Existential
by H.S. Pumpkin
Summary: After her death, the Elders give Prue the opportunity to have a normal life with Andy. However, it doesn't take long for Prue's new destiny to intertwine with that of the new Power of Three. CH7: Prue & Andy get some news whilst magic begins to be at
1. Chapter 1

**A/N (Author's Note)** : _This fan fiction is set right after season three. I'm one of those suckers who loved Prue, as such I've always wondered what she might have been doing after that awful, awful day... _

_The plot will be primarily based around Prue and Andy, but that's not to say they will be the only characters – anyway, it'll all unravel as the fiction progresses. Even if you were never particularly taken by Prue/Andy, there's no reason for this fiction to not have some appeal (although admittedly, the beginning may be taxing)._

_Any who, read, enjoy, and it would be astoundingly useful if you could let me know how it goes for you. Thanks!_

Oh, I don't own Charmed, the characters, producers, etc. Nada.

Please, please read this s-l-o-w-l-y. You may be tempted to read through this chapter mega-quick, or to just skim read it, but all I ask is that, if you do this first, to then start again, and read it slowly, taking in each word. Pause when a comma crops up, and really really pause when these '...' three dots (repeatedly) pop up too. Otherwise you'll miss aspects, and the meaning of what I've written.

* * *

She was falling... falling into an abyss of... white? No... no... she was _rising. _Rising into an all-enveloping white mist. 

Or was she?..

She desperately tried to reach for something – to even feel her own physical body. But her arms, and hands, failed. As if there was nothing to touch... nothing to... nothing?..

How could there be nothing?

Even her brain, her _always_ level-headed, diligent and reliable brain had seemingly passed into this nothingness. Thoughts never quite came to the surface, yet there was something... something pulling her into... no... pointing her to...

What was going on? Why couldn't she _think_?_ Feel_?..

Then it happened. A crashing crescendo of throbbing pain.

It started in her head... then her back... then it traveled... lingering... spiraling through to her arms, legs, hands... finalizing, by engulfing her heart.

In a vain attempt, she tried to cry out, but there was no noise here.

The pain squeezed and screamed within her heart, whilst fresh waves of pain crashed over the rest of her body.

_Was this what it meant to die?_

If tears could form and fall, they would. Oh, how she just _couldn't_ believe it. _Death_.

The one thought her brain could muster, was that of the end. The moment her body was hurled violently through a wall. The pain of the crash, her fatal injuries, was released by her last bittersweet breath before death claimed her life.

After that, well, it was _this_. The seemingly never ending white_ nothingness_.

Was this the afterlife? Heaven? Hell? Somewhere in-between?

She suddenly felt an intangible sensation; that she _wasn't supposed to be here_.

"_Prue..."_A familiar female sounding voice entered her head. _"Prue... my darling..."_

Then another, sterner voice, once again familiar, and female, _"Prudence... can you hear us?.. Prudence... find us through the mist..."_

What..? Who..? How..?

"_Prue... you must fight through this... your unconsciousness... this is not the ultimate end... Prue..."_

Ultimate end? Erm... _what_?

The voices got louder, clearer, with such clarity, it was like they were right next to her.

"She's running out of time. Soon she won't have an opportunity to fight it..."

"We can't give up, she would want this; _another chance_..."

Her brain worked furiously, trying to pinpoint the voices to people she should remember.

The first voice, turned from the comforting tone it had been, to an almost menacing one. "You haven't healed her wounds properly! How can she fight through this, when she's... when she's... _when she has these injuries_!"

"We have done all that we had power to do." A masculine voice, almost a collective of voices, said. Sounding further away than the female voices, but in a way that gave the impression she was surrounded.

"Do_ they_ not want this after all? Do _they _not feel she deserves this anymore?"

She heard a sharp intake of a breath – a sound in particular, she felt she'd heard many times before. It was almost a warning sound before... before... _oh why couldn't she remember_?!

"Patty! You have no right-" The second female voice was cut off, almost as soon as her demand began.

The strange male collective voice was heard again. "We have done everything _they_ have given us power to do. The rest, _is up to her._"

The comfort returned in the first voice, and seemed to get closer. "Prue... please, my darling. Please hear me... just breathe. Breathe... just inhale... please Prue, you have to do this."

Patty?..._Patty_... Why did that name ring a huge bell in her brain?

"Prudence, stop being lazy! Inhale already and just _breathe_!"

"Mother!"

"She always used to respond so well to me shouting at her," the second voice responded, somewhat curtly.

"Now is not the time mother! We might lose her, and your making _those_ kind of remarks?"

"Oh, believe me, that girl is too strong to be lost like this. Isn't that right Prudence? Why don't you show us just how strong you really are,_ and just breathe_..."

Just breathe? How?..

Right at that moment, she felt the voices slipping away from her, and the whiteness seemed to slowly be dissipating into, well, darkness.

Realization hit her; she was losing them, whoever they were, but her instincts told her that she really didn't want to lose them, as if it meant that somehow she herself would be lost... forever?

She sensed panic in the voices around her. Did that mean they were, well, around her? Actually near her? Was she still a physical being?

Feeling there was no time to waste, and everything to lose, she tried to do what she'd been told to do; breathe.

But it didn't happen. It was like her lungs just didn't work, or wouldn't work. Her own panic took hold. The darkness was growing, and the whiteness was slipping from her. The voices too, got distant, and she thought she heard the beginnings of crying.

She couldn't let the darkness fall upon her. She wanted... well she didn't know what she wanted but she did know that she didn't want this... this screamed _wrong_.

She tried again, desperately wishing to inhale, to uptake air and what she hoped would regain her consciousness.

But it was to no avail. Air would not come. Did she even possess lungs anymore?

As the last of the white was replaced with dark, she thought that maybe this is what was supposed to happen, that this was where she was supposed to be.

_No!_ Something gripped at her heart, her soul, her spirit... this place was not for her! "_Fight for the voices to come back... to awaken..._" An almost whispering voice said within her, filling her with the necessity to fight for who she was... and who she should be.

Putting everything she had into her cause, she willed herself to inhale, to breathe, to rise above the darkness.

This time, her final chance, she succeeded.

Air came rushing into her lungs, and it was one of the most painful things she ever felt. It was almost tempting to stop the terror of the pain, by stopping the inflow of air, but she needed this.

Consciousness came, as the air flooded in. Her eyes opened briefly, staring up at a sky of brilliant white. She became aware of the presence of others around her; the voices she'd heard.

But before she could give another thought to the voices, the time had come to exhale. Her lungs burned with the need to now give back the air she had inhaled.

With all the willpower that remained, she forced the air out. It left with the same pain that it arrived with.

"Prue... oh Prue... that's it, just do it again... I promise each time it will get easier, just keeping breathing Prue..."

Recognition shocked through her brain as she placed the voice, and she almost cried out her name, and would have, had she not been so intent on making sure she kept inhaling and exhaling.

She felt a hand holding one of hers, and another warm hand was stoking her forehead tenderly. Her other hand was taken up by two slightly colder ones.

She swallowed as breathing did get easier, and less of a conscious effort. Her eyes fluttered open, and were again greeted with brilliant white above her, but closer to her, she finally saw who the two voices from before belonged to; her mother and grandmother.

She was aware that she was lying flat on her back, on what seemed like a raised platform.

Looking at her mother, Patty Halliwell, Prue opened her mouth, and tried to speak, but only managed to coarsely croak out "mom".

Patty continued to stroke her daughter's forehead. "Ssh, sweetie, just try to relax, everything is just about to get worse before it gets better".

Feeling her eyes slightly widen at that statement, she had no time to prepare for the shock of crashing pain waves roll across her entire body. The pain was exactly the same as she'd felt when she had been originally shrouded in the whiteness.

This time she could cry out, and with almost no control a scream escaped from her mouth as she tried to fight the pain. She squeezed at the hands that held hers, and felt her back arch under the pain.

"Grams," Prue stifled out between screaming and gasping for breath.

Penelope Halliwell, 'Grams', trying to hide the pain of her hand being squeezed of life by her eldest granddaughter, sweetly responded with, "I knew you had the strength in you Prudence, if there is anyone who can pull themselves from the final afterlife, it's you!" She flashed Prue one of her timeless smiles, the effect however was lost, as Prue cringed once again under the pressure of the pain.

Just as Prue was about to bear against another wave of pain, she felt it starting to ebb away with each breath she took. She closed her eyes as she tried to relax her muscles, all of which had contracted under the influence of pain.

Seeing her daughter starting to calm down and relax, Patty glanced at her own mother, both knowing what was going to happen next.

"Prue," Patty started, trying to figure out just what to say. She still continued to stroke Prue's forehead. "Prue, this is really important, as your consciousness returns you are going to... well... Prue you just need to not worry about the situation." Feeling slightly lost for words, Patty shared a look with Penny.

Grams squeezed Prue's hand within her own. "Prudence, what your mother is trying to say is, don't panic as thoughts come flooding through your head. Everything is being taken care of, Prue, you just need to worry about yourself right now..."

As Prue laid there, eyes closed, she was aware of thoughts and memories coming back as her consciousness did indeed return.

One particular thought spiraled into a much bigger one: her sisters.

In an instant Prue bolted up from the platform, only now seeing the ring of robed whitelighters surrounding her.

"What's going on?" Prue almost shouted at the whitelighters. "I can't be here... I can't... this isn't right! I need to help Piper and Phoebe! Oh no no no... Shax! Shax! He's going to kill them... " Prue batted her mother's and grandmother's hands off of her and got off the platform, landing a little roughly on her feet.

Patty grabbed Prue's arm. "Prue it's ok, they're ok-."

"No, mom, you don't understand!" Prue desperately looked around her, trying to find a way out of this madness. "I've got to protect them! What do I do... What do I do... oh I really really can't do this..." It was when she turned to face her mother that she saw her tear-streaked face. "Mom, you've got to help me, I've got to get to Piper and Phoebe, I've got to... I... I have to protect them... please... mom what do I do?" Towards the end, Prue's voice broke as she fought against the sobs that threatened to escape as tears flooded into her eyes.

It broke Patty's heart to see Prue being destroyed by the situation. She knew, that Prue knew the truth of it; her death, but she also knew to expect her daughter to deny it all, to begin with.

She forced a smile at her daughter, and held her arm less forcefully. "Prue it's all ok, your sisters are fine and safe, Shax hasn't attacked them."

Prue stared at her mother, in disbelief that Patty didn't see the seriousness of the situation. She pulled away from her and walked towards the circle of whitelighters. They made no movement of getting out her way, so as she reached the edge, she forced herself in a gap between two of them.

"Prudence, get back here, right now!" She heard Grams shout. "You're not ready!"

Prue recognized where she was; she had been here once before. When Eames, a shape-shifting warlock stole the whitelighter Natalie's powers to orb up here, the Charmed Ones, together vanquished him, here; 'Up There'.

The thought of her sisters, as well as where she was, brought a sickening feeling to the pit of her stomach, and she felt ready to vomit. Feeling a loose tear running down her cheek, she quickly brushed it away, and she looked for some sort of gateway or something to get back to the manor, to her sisters.

However, her search became impossible as her vision blurred, with ever more tears forming, waiting to be released. As a sob escaped from her, Prue felt her leg muscles give way, and she began to fall to the hard, solid floor below her.

A strong arm caught her as she fell, and slowly lowered her.

Prue felt the control of her emotions slip away as she became overwhelmed with her grief and regret, her body succumbing to her cries and sobs. She touched her forehead against the floor, and curled into a ball, as if isolating herself from the rest of the world.

Patty and Penny knelt down next to her, whilst the mysterious strong arm kept a protective hand on the small of her back.

Patty once again in tears, touched her hand tenderly to Prue's hair. "I know this is hard for you Prue, but I promise everything will work out."

Prue couldn't find the words to respond – or the breath, caught in a series of choking weeps. The hand at the small of her back sent warm shivers through the core of her spine, as it moved in gentle, slow, minimal movements. She recognized the comforting gesture immediately, and whilst it was consoling to have it, the memories that flooded in only made the situation all the more real.

Penny tried to find words of comfort, but struggled. "Prudence, believe me, when I say this, that your death, is not the end for you, that this is not your final destiny."

Finding strength, Prue raised her head, and sat up, this time letting the tears fall freely from her blue eyes. "How can everything work out?" She whispered. "How is this not the end? I failed." Prue closed her eyes, in effect forcing more tears out. "I failed Piper and Phoebe. I didn't protect them, and now... now, I've caused the end of the Charmed Ones..."

"Prudence... that's not strictly true..."

"Mother!" Patty exclaimed. "Let's not have _that_ talk right now! As if Prue hasn't got enough to deal with already..."

"What talk?" Prue questioned, wiping at her eyes, a useless attempt to rid of some of her tears. Seeing a knowing look pass between Patty and Penny, she asked again. "What talk? What aren't you telling me?"

Patty brushed her own tears away, feeling pain for her daughter. "Prue, we don't need to do this right now."

Prue's brow furrowed. "Do what right now?"

Patty looked away from Prue's ice-blue stare.

"Do what?"

The hand at her back pressed against her stronger, a sign of more support – but that wasn't what she wanted.

Prue stood up in a rush, turning to face him, but unable to bring herself to look at him. "I can't do this right now... this is unfair..."

He softly touched the side of her face with his hand. He gently forced her eyes to meet his, "I'm here to support you Prue, to help you through this."

She only looked into his blue eyes for a moment, but it was enough to make her knees buckle. It took the rest of her remaining strength to stay standing. She touched his arm, pulling his hand from her face, and with her eyes on the floor struggled to say, "unless you can get me back to the manor, then you can't help me."

"Prue," Patty begged. "Don't do this. We're here to help you."

Prue turned her back on the other three, trying to get to an end of her tears. "If you want to help, send me back to Piper and Phoebe". Her voice shook with emotion.

He stood close behind her, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We can't do that."

In anger at their ignorance of her wishes, Prue turned back round to face them, and through gritted teeth said, "don't you see? Piper and Phoebe _need_ me there. They are vulnerable without the power of three – I can't leave them... I can't let them-". Prue choked on her words, letting out a whimper. "I have to be there with them".

He tried again, to reach out for her, but she grabbed his arm before he could. "Andy, don't." Saying his name aloud, affirming his presence, caused another wave of tears to form. "This isn't right." She couldn't bear to think about being in his presence again, not with everything else... not with her death.

This time, Grams stepped forward, and placing her own hand on Prue's arm she gently said, "this is exactly where you are supposed to be. I wish it wasn't so, Prue, believe me when I say this for all three of us, that none of us want this for you, but it was your destiny to die the way you did, at the time you did."

Prue locked her blue eyes on Grams, caught in a mix of emotions, which now, undoubtedly included utter confusion.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks for all the kind reviews so far! It does make a difference when you know at least one person is reading, and more importantly, enjoying your writing. Certainly a positive motivational factor to keep at it!

A word regarding this chapter. This is where I guess you can call this fiction an AU/R (alternate universe/reality), as you'll find out, some facts expressed in the show are changed here. But in my opinion, they make for a sweeter fiction, and I hope you agree.

As always, enjoy!

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"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Prue asked, continuing to lock her eyes on Grams. 

"I think you know exactly what I mean, but I know this is hard to accept." Waving a hand between herself, Patty and Andy, Grams continued, "we all had to accept our own deaths, so we know what you are going through right now. But the sooner you do accept your fate, the sooner things can move on."

Struggling to find resolve, Prue closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. Upon opening her eyes, she wiped away her final tears, swallowed, and looked at the three people standing before her.

"So you're telling me, that my death is what was meant to happen, and I'm supposed to accept it, _just like that_?" Clicking her fingers at the end.

"Yes, and no," Grams replied. "Yes, this is your fate, but no, you can't accept it _just like that_." Equally clicking her fingers. "Death is not something to be treated lightly; it will take time to work through all of this."

"Right. OK." Prue ran a hand through her hair. "OK, so I'm dead. Wonderful. _Lucky me_. Exactly what I wanted."

"Prue," Patty said, hearing the hurt in her daughter's voice.

Prue flashed a fake smile. "Oh no mom, it's fine. Everything is just perfect. Alive yesterday, dead today. Hey, it happens right? Hell, it's happened to all of us! Just must be one of those things..."

"_Prue_," Patty pleaded again.

"But what's really getting to me is this," putting her hand to her chin, in a quizzical manner, "just what's going to happen to the almighty Charmed Ones? The Power of Three? The two sisters, whom, are seemingly just supposed to accept this 'fate' too?"

This time, Patty stayed silent.

Prue now placed the same hand on her hip. "Oh right... some 'big' secret about that. Something I just can't know yet, because I surely can't handle it, you know, with my death and all that. Well, why wait? I'm dead. Accepted. So let's hear it then, the truth of it."

"Prudence, don't you dare... don't be so immature about this!" Grams exclaimed.

"Immature?_ Immature_? Can dead people actually be immature Grams?"

"Prue," Andy said softly. "You don't have to do this."

"Do what exactly?"

"This. Don't run away from what you feel, and cover it with bitterness and sarcasm."

"Run away? Oh no, I'm not running away, what's to run away from? I'm dead – there are no feelings for me to run away from. How could a _dead_ person possibly feel anything? Right? I mean, _dead is dead_."

"This really isn't the way you want to do this," Patty quietly commented.

"Sure it is. What difference does it make anyway? Honestly?"

"Prudence we know this is hard for you right now, but being stupid about it just isn't necessary." Grams crossed her arms across her chest, in frustration towards Prue.

"That's right Grams, me, the stupid one, always saying stupid things, doing stupid things... stupid enough to get killed..." Prue dropped her gaze to the floor, for the briefest of moments showing a crack in her retaliation against her situation.

But, as always with Prue, her moment of weakness was short lived. As soon as anyone could have noticed her gaze drop, she quickly raised it again, this time, determination clearly written on her face, and visible in her ice-cold eyes.

Setting her eyes on her mother, Prue, with a false impression of strength, said "let's have it out then. This huge secret. The fate of my sisters; it's clearly not death, like mine."

Patty took her own deep breath, feeling at a loss of what course of action to take. Meeting her daughter's eyes, she saw the stubbornness and arrogance that had always characterized Prue's personality. Sighing, Patty knew it was these traits that Prue used to deal with unfortunate situations. Although not being physically present in much of her daughter's life, Patty had seen enough, from watching 'Up There', to know that much.

Penny glanced at Patty. "Don't tell her right now, you know she's not ready."

Gathering her own sense of determination, she replied, "I don't think I have a choice Mother." Patty prepared herself for what she'd been dreading for years. She knew that Prue wasn't strong enough, right now, to handle it, and that it would break her heart. But what could she do?

Looking into Prue's eyes, Patty searched for some sign that Prue would back down, would deal with one thing at a time, and not push for answers right away. But she knew in her heart that Prue wouldn't do that; it simply wasn't in Prue's nature to back down. Sharing a sad smile with herself, Patty thought to how with everything, Prue always had to get to full extent of things before being content. She wasn't the type of person to just accept things as they came – she had to know it all, immediately; know all the horrors at once.

Andy watched as the two women mirrored one another; their own convictions, and perseverance to their personal causes clearly evident.

"Well?" Prue asked, her hand still firmly placed on her hip.

Patty looked upwards, closing her eyes for just a second, then, again looked straight into Prue's steely glare.

"You have another sister. A half-sister to be exact." Patty paused, checking for any sign of reaction from Prue. There was none evident, so she continued. "After your father left," taking a breath for strength, "I became romantically involved with my whitelighter, Sam, as you know." She had decided to out right and say about her sister first, as she knew there was no point in delaying the truth, not with Prue at least.

"Patty don't do this to her, it'll break her," Grams said, dropping her arms.

Ignoring her mother's pleas, Patty continued. "However, there is a bit more to it than that." Patty swallowed, now struggling to find the courage to say each word. "Prue, I don't want to do this to you, not right now... please... can't we do this... later?"

Annoyed at the hesitance in her mother, Prue replied, rather sharply, "continue."

Patty shook her head slightly, in awe of her daughter's persistence. "Due to this romance, I fell pregnant, and had another daughter, like I said, your half-sister. However, like Piper and Leo have already experienced, unions between witches and their whitelighters are strictly forbidden, so I was forced to give her up after birth, and place her in safety where the Elders wouldn't find out about her."

Prue's hand fell from her hip, a sign that Prue's defensiveness was slowly fading.

"But it's useless trying to hide something from them, and so they found out about it all, and summoned me up here. 'They' said that there were only supposed to be three sisters borne, that these three would become the Charmed Ones; that they were you, Piper and Phoebe. When I gave birth to your third sister, I caused disruption to the destiny of the Power of Three." Patty stopped briefly, desperate to find enough strength to continue, and to find strength for Prue.

"There can only be the Power of Three; the Power of Four does and will not exist. 'They' weren't sure what should happen. It had already been set in stone for you three to receive your powers, and grow into the Charmed Ones. And so you did, admittedly a little bit later than expected due to mine and your grandmother's deaths."

Patty stood closer to Prue, taking one of her hands into her own. She soothingly ran her fingers over the back of Prue's hand. "As each of you grew closer together, and fought to protect the innocents, 'they' saw that, due to magic involvement, your own destiny had changed from what it should have been."

Patty flicked her hand in Andy's direction. "After Andy's death, although it was his place to be, it didn't tie in with destiny like it should have. Although you went to the future, and saw yourself as the owner of Bucklands, you changed this outcome by following your passion of photography. As time progressed, your destiny became unclear and uncertain, until quite recently, 'they' realized your true fate lied not with being part of the Power of Three."

"Where does it lay?" Prue asked in a small, quiet voice, her hand feeling cold within her mother's.

Giving her daughter a small smile, Patty continued. "'They' still aren't entirely sure, but they do know that you are meant to be with Andy. That one thing, is clearly written in the stars themselves." Her smile disappeared as she said the next part. "However, after watching, Paige, your third sister, 'they' also realized that she was ready to be part of the Power of Three."

"Does that mean that 'they' now want her to actually be part of the Power of Three?" Prue's voice remained quiet, still, and subdued.

Patty deeply inhaled. "Sometimes, we just have to accept fate. Fate is not controlled, not by the Elders, or you and I. It's one of those wicked things we have to hold up our hands to, powerless to its force."

"What are you implying?"

"It's fate for Paige to join the Power of Three, right now..."

"And for me to be dead," Prue finished for her mother.

"Now Prudence, don't assume this is the end," Grams said, speaking after a long time of silence. "Because it certainly isn't."

Prue only quickly glanced at Penny, unsure of what to think of her words. She turned her eyes, towards her mother, this time feeling them getting wet. "So Piper and Phoebe..."

"Will learn of their other sister soon enough. They will have to find her, convince her of her heritage, and restore the Power of Three," Grams continued.

Squeezing her daughter's hand, Patty felt concerned about what might happen next; Prue's reaction.

Andy, ever so lightly placed his hand on the top of Prue's arm, feeling the same as Patty.

"Prue, I'm so sorry about all of this. I never meant for you to have to go through anything quite like this," Patty tried to explain. Currently Prue stood motionless, neither her face or eyes betraying her emotions within.

"Tell us what you are thinking, how you are feeling," Andy urged, slightly startled at Prue's silence. He had expected an explosive response upon hearing about her other sister. He had assumed that Prue would think of Paige as a replacement, or that Prue had been 'used' to get the Charmed Ones to where they stood today.

However, he couldn't tell if this was what was going through her mind or not. She just stood there, doing nothing.

"Whatever you are feeling is OK," Grams said. "You are entitled to feel betrayed, angry, resentment, frustration; we will help you through this."

Prue broke the physical contact with her mother and Andy, again running a hand through her jet black hair. She took a few deep breaths, absorbing all that had been said. "I should have known," she finally said, seemingly to no one other than herself.

"How could you have known, sweetheart?" Patty asked, with a small smile.

"It's OK," Andy said softly, thinking Prue was blaming herself.

Prue shook her head, smiled sadly at Andy, and then looked at her mother. "I knew something like this might happen."

"Prudence, I'm not too sure what's going through that head of yours, but the more you tell us, the more we can help." Grams now had a concerned look on her face. She certainly hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction from Prue, in fact, she wasn't even sure what to think of such a reaction.

"You don't understand." Prue said it so calmly, and without a hint of bitterness, that it only spurred further concern from her loved ones.

"I get the feeling we're missing something," Patty commented.

Prue looked upward, a small smile on her face. "I really could have guessed this was going to happen one day."

In a strange turn of events, Prue wrapped her arms around her mother, and pulled her into a comforting hug.

Patty felt confused. What was going on with Prue? She had thought Prue would be devastated, destroyed... overwhelmed by what she'd been told. She had only just been sharp and sarcastic, and now she was what? Content?

As Patty's thoughts ran wild in her brain, she felt something compelling within Prue's hug. She felt like Prue was giving _her_ strength and support. Shouldn't it be the other way round?

Then it came to her: the guilt and remorse over having Paige, and equally giving her up. She felt the emotions bubble up and build within her heart; emotions which she'd bottled up for years.

Prue held her mother tighter, which triggered Patty to pull tighter on the leash of her emotions. She couldn't be releasing them now, not when Prue was the one in need of comforting.

Patty pulled away slightly, to look at Prue. "What's going on?"

With a wise smile, Prue brushed a lone tear off of her mother's face. "I don't think you'd believe me, even if I told you truthfully."

Andy looked from Grams, to Patty, to Prue, desperate to grasp what was happening. "Prue, can you explain how you've gone from being completely cynical, to... this? Amiable?"

Prue exhaled noisily, again, shaking her head slightly. "It makes sense now."

"It may make sense to you Prue, but we are completely dumbfounded," Grams said, with disbelief on her face.

"I knew that one day, she would become part of the family."

"She?"

Gazing at her mother, Prue continued, "I never understood why we hadn't all been together; why she had to be apart – separate from us. Now I know."

"Prue," Patty heard the desperation in her own voice, but she couldn't help it. "What are you saying?"

The time had come. The moment twenty-three years of mystery, and secrecy were laid bare, and open for all to see.

"I know Paige."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** : I apologize for the lack of an update sooner than now, there are a few reasons behind it, but I won't bore you with the details. Just understand I didn't mean to leave you waiting so long! Nevertheless, I hope the length of this update partly makes up for it. :-D

* * *

"What!" Grams exclaimed, her eyes almost popping out of her head.

"I know Paige," Prue repeated. This time, she pulled away from her mother's embrace, and took a step away from her loved ones. She half turned away from them, her gaze watching the other people 'Up There'. She had been expecting this conversation for years, but that wasn't to say she was prepared for it, indeed she wasn't – at all.

"Prudence!" Grams said, desperate for answers, and for Prue to turn her attention back to the conversation.

Patty looked carefully at her daughter, wondering, searching, for truth. "How... how could you possibly know about Paige?" She managed to utter out.

Prue couldn't bring herself to look back at her mother or Grams. An involuntarily lump formed in her throat, and she tried to swallow it away. A million different thoughts all screamed through her head at the same time. Prue put a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache forming from her emotional chaos.

Seeing her obvious discomfort, Andy walked over to Prue, standing in her line of sight. He took her other hand in his saying, "you never told me."

Prue dropped her hand from her forehead, and refused to look at Andy. She could sense the anticipation and anxiousness from Patty, Penny and Andy, but also the lack of understanding, and the desperation to have all the answers. She couldn't place her hesitance in explaining her secret to her family, but she couldn't shake it off either. 

Prue pulled her hand away from Andy's, in a gentle manner, because it wasn't that she didn't appreciate his support or concern, it was just that... where did she begin? The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she didn't want her family to know. This secret had been purely her own for over two decades, and in a selfish way, did she really want to share it? All the memories she shared with just Paige? Could she willingly let other people into all of that?

She kicked herself for even saying those three words - 'I know Paige'. Of course it opened up all the mystery that goes with saying such a thing! But she didn't want to dig through that mystery to find suitable answers for everyone; who's to say she even had such suitable answers anyway?

Prue gritted her teeth. Her mother, and grandmother did deserve to know how she knew about Paige, but she couldn't find the strength to do it. How could twenty-three years worth of secrets be boiled down to a simple answer? But then, it wasn't like they needed to know 'everything'. Just the basics, the broad details of it all.

Details. She sighed. Details she could do. Well, not the finer tuned ones, but the basic ones, yes. She quickly worked though it all in her head, the words she could use to explain it as briefly as possible.

"Andy, go stand back over there," Prue said pointing to where he'd been previously. If she was going to do this, she needed for him to hear it too. She turned back to face Patty and Grams, inhaling a deep breath.

"I know Paige because..." Finding inner strength, Prue forced herself to look into her family's eyes. "Because the night she was born in the manor, I heard her cry. I knew a baby was on the way – I remembered what it had been like with Phoebe. Her cry verified that there had indeed, been a baby born." Prue steeled herself against the memories that flooded her mind's eye. "I heard you two talking about taking her to a church – that it was the only place she could go that you would know she was in good hands."

"Prudence-" Grams started, but Prue held up a hand, stopping her.

"The bare truth of it is that I found out which church it was, and went to it one day, after being dropped off at school in the morning. I was told which family she had been adopted to, and where they lived. Over the years, I kept 'tabs' on her, wanting to know that she was safe and well. We met a couple of times whilst she was a young child, but she just thought of me as a local, regular kid at the same park as her." Prue smiled in memory. "Anyway, it wasn't really until I was in high school that we properly spoke. There was this mentoring program to help younger kids in other schools. I knew this would be a perfect opportunity, so every Wednesday afternoon, for four years, I met up with Paige."

Prue saw the disbelief in her mother's and grandmother's eyes. Andy looked shocked too, but also a little betrayed. True, high school had also been the time that they were extremely close, so Prue guessed that he wondered why she hadn't told him what she'd been doing.

Knowing some of the questions that would be asked, Prue tried to cover the bases beforehand. "I never told Paige about who I was, or anything about her true family. She never even knew my full name, she didn't ask for it because I think she sensed my hesitance. After high school we kept in touch, and I became a listening ear for her, when she felt she didn't have anyone else to turn to."

"Prue... I..." Patty tried, but failed to form words.

"The last time I saw Paige was a couple of weeks ago in a coffee shop. The past three years have been difficult because I didn't know what our powers might mean regarding her place in the family. I've had a sense that the whole Charmed thing must have been why she was separated from us, but before our powers came... I just didn't understand it." Prue shook her head. "I wanted to know why she wasn't part of our family, but I knew better than to ask the question."

Prue stopped talking, her mind having run out of words. She didn't feel like there was a whole lot else to say – surely she'd said enough to explain how she knew Paige? She felt a cold shiver, as she thought about all she hadn't said. It wasn't that she had lied, she just hadn't told the whole truth.

Like, when she had heard Paige cry in the manor, she had been the only one awake, and slipped into her mother's room. She had picked her baby sister up, and held her tenderly as big eyes blinked up at her. Prue felt guilty also about not saying how she had actually seen Paige whilst under the care of Sister Agnes, and made a suggestion for the name 'Paige' above any other name starting with P.

Prue lost herself in her reminiscence of her secret. The times they had played as children in the park, the long conversations during Prue's high school years – how many there had been of those! Prue remembered feeling a sense of pride being able to be Paige's mentor, how mentoring was the only thing she could do to act like a sister for Paige. She also thought back to the guilt and remorse she had felt, not being able to tell Paige about her family and bring her to the manor to meet her other sisters.

Prue's memory shifted to the more recent encounters, and she smiled. Paige had certainly grown into a woman she felt deserved the support of her family. Whilst Paige had grown to be strong, and full of willpower, it was her easy humor that Prue had always found comfort in. In an awkward situation, Paige had always seemingly broke the tension with some witty remark that had left both of them in laughter.

Whilst the thought brought about pain for Prue, she felt confident that Paige would fit well into the role of a Charmed One. Her lightheartedness would be a welcoming element to the Power of Three. Prue could only hope that it would also help Piper and Phoebe through the difficult time ahead without their older sister.

Prue thought about how much she felt she had to protect Paige. When Prue was sixteen, Paige was only nine. Prue had felt not only responsible for Piper and Phoebe – but for Paige's welfare too. Paige was so much younger, and she didn't have anyone who gave her the type of family love she was so desperate for.

Prue kicked herself again – that wasn't true. Paige's adoptive parents had been as loving as biological parents, but Prue knew that Paige had always craved a sense of belonging, and it hadn't been satisfied from her parents.

"Prudence," Grams said breaking the silence and Prue's reverie with it. "You were only seven years old, how could you... I don't know." She shook her head. "How could- how did you manage to find Paige? I just can't believe it!"

Prue shrugged. She couldn't tell if Grams was angry, or upset. The last thing she wanted right now was an angry Grams.

"You've known about Paige all this time... I..." Patty couldn't find the words for what she wanted to say. She wasn't even sure she knew what she wanted to say.

Prue looked at her mother, half-hoping Patty would be the most understanding about what Prue had done. But she didn't see understanding in her mother's eyes, she saw... hurt.

Andy met Prue's eyes for a split-second, then looked away.

Prue felt the distance the three of them were putting out, whilst they tried to work through what she had. Tears, once again welled up in her eyes, and she sniffed, the onset of crying just a weak barrier away from being released. She couldn't help but take their absence of warmth as disapproval, disappointment and despondency. Could her mother and grandmother be that mad at her? Could Andy see it as being so unfaithful? She had to know.

"Andy," she pleaded, desperate to know what he was feeling.

He didn't meet her eyes but shook his head. "I thought you could trust me with everything back then," he said in a low voice.

Prue couldn't find her voice to reply. Of course she had trusted him – but couldn't he see there was more at play than just simple trust?

"How could you think about doing all of that... meeting your sister, without even telling me?" Grams said, anger evident in her voice.

Prue swallowed as she tried to blink away tears. She hadn't expected quite such a response, and it was hurting her, that neither Patty, Penny or Andy, could see that what she had done was out of complete and utter love for her family – all of her family. Paige had been her baby sister – her abandoned baby sister, and even at a young age of seven, she still felt the need to protect and be responsible for Paige. How could she not? By looking after Paige, she hadn't been saying she felt more love for Paige than Piper or Phoebe, but simply that she wanted to share her love and support to all three of her sisters.

Prue's chest constricted as she fought against sobs that waited to escape. Her throat burned as everything that had happened within the last day alone crashed into her heart. Emotionally she couldn't cope with everything she needed to deal with. Just accepting her death was hard enough! She raised a hand to cover her mouth as a sob finally surfaced. 

Prue took one last look at the fallen faces before her, and saw what brought even more pain to her already tortured heart; enmity towards her. Uncovering her mouth, Prue said, "I'm sorry," emotion breaking through. She turned, and slowly walked away, letting her heart rule her head, and succumbing to her heartache.

Grams stared at her granddaughter's back, as she disappeared from view. One of them, Patty, Andy or herself should be going after her, she thought, but from her own emotions, she guessed that none of them had the courage to do it. How could they, with Prue's revelation?

"That girl, she is just too strong-willed!" Grams said, turning her eyes to Andy and Patty. Their disbelief mirroring one another's, as well as her own. "I find it shockingly incredible that a seven year old could have tracked down her sister so well. Don't you think?"

Andy scratched his head. "She trusted me with everything, absolutely everything, how could she not with this? How could I not even see it! I was dating her and failed to see what she was doing entirely!"

Grams nodded her head at Andy, understanding his feelings. She then looked at her daughter. "What do you think of it all? I must have slipped up somewhere, we were so damn careful to keep Paige a secret! How could a seven year old outwit us!" Penny shook her head, this time at herself.

Patty took a deep breath, finding a calm tone, she said, "I want to say that I'm surprised by what Prue did, but in all honestly, from the bottom of my heart I can't say I am."

"How are you not surprised?" Grams asked skeptically.

"Because this is Prue we are talking about, the Prue that we all know and love. The Prue that has always put family before anything, even herself – Piper's wedding certainly proved that, in an ironic, weird way... she did crash the wedding after all... but that's not the point. Doing something like this," Patty said, extending an arm, "says Prue all over."

"She shouldn't have done it though!" Grams shook a finger.

"You think you let on about Paige to Prue? Well I beg to differ, I remember how scrupulous you were about keeping everything 'hush hush', but it is exactly like Prue to find out what she needs to know, whether you know she's doing it or not. I will agree, she was so young, but Prue's commitment is the backbone of her personality, and even at that age, she was already showing signs of the type of person she's grown to be." Patty sighed.

"So what are you getting at?"

Patty smiled at her mother's slight frown. "What I'm saying is, don't put this past Prue. If there is one person who could find their baby sister, and practically look over her for so many years in secrecy, then it's Prue. I know we all feel hurt for not knowing, like she did it behind our backs, but she did what she deemed was right."

Patty still saw a hint of betrayal in Andy's eyes. Feeling her eyes on him, he said, "I would have helped her." She now smiled at him.

"And she would have known that, but don't you see, this was something for Prue to do, on her own. It wasn't that she didn't trust you, or love you enough to tell you, it was that she simply couldn't tell you. She knew that it was a big enough secret enough for her to not even be told about her sister, so how could she possibly tell anyone else? Think about that." Patty touched Andy's arm lightly, reassuring him of her words. "It wasn't anything against you, so don't hold it against her."

Andy exhaled noisily, a small smile finally spreading on his face as he looked at his feet. "I suppose you are right." He brought his eyes up to look at Patty, and she squeezed his arm.

"Well you weren't exactly welcoming to her either, you didn't run off after her anymore than either of us did," Grams commented to her daughter.

Patty nodded her head. "I know," she said in a small voice. "It was just so shocking, to think that the daughter I had abandoned, had someone watching over her safety after all."

"And you wish it had been you?" Andy gently asked.

"Partly," Patty admitted. "It was extremely hard to give her up, and I guess, selfishly, I'm jealous that Prue got to spend time with her."

Grams gave her a sad smile. "It's entirely reasonable to feel that way."

"I know," Patty said again. "But what is not reasonable, is letting my daughter now think she's been disowned because we couldn't deal with her secret. We have to find her."

"I agree, but I don't think all of us should go, just one," Andy suggested. "Prue will feel overwhelmed if we all approach her."

"Good point," Grams said.

"OK, well I will go to her first, if anyone should be apologizing to her, it should be me. Maybe you two can talk to her after I have," Patty said, receiving nods from Andy and Penny. "For someone who follows caution and rules so closely, she sure does have her moments of doing the complete opposite."

Patty left Grams and Andy to do their own things, and headed off in the same direction Prue had gone. Admittedly, she was feeling guilty for letting Prue leave the way she did, knowing some of the thoughts that would have been going through her daughter's head. She had been wrong to let Prue make her own assumptions as to what her family now thought of her, but Patty couldn't deny how she had felt after Prue's secret was revealed.

Considering Prue had been so supportive to Patty before she even said her secret, in terms of her loving embrace, it was unfair that Prue hadn't immediately received that same amount of support. Patty would just have to fix that. Even though it wasn't in Prue's nature to let other people's opinions and words get to her directly, right now, she was in a deeply vulnerable and weak state of mind, as anyone would be in her position. However, it would be this vulnerability that would cast dark and depressive thoughts in Prue's mind, and inevitably in her heart.

As Patty walked past whitelighters and other benevolent beings, she wondered whether it had been a good thing to explain the Paige situation to Prue so quickly after all. Even though Prue already knew about her, it had spurred more drama into an already dramatic event. Prue could have done without having to go through the trauma of revealing her secret, whilst trying to deal with her death.

Patty sighed, Prue had been so persistent in knowing Patty's own secret! One thing was becoming all too clear – the Halliwell's had too many secrets between one another, and those they loved. Something would have to change that, she thought to herself.

As Patty neared an area she recognized 'Up There' she knew she would find her daughter close by. There was this pond, almost like structure, that was square in shape, and only about a foot tall. Within it, contained a strange silvery liquid that when stood over, would display images of the loved ones you wished to watch over. It was a nice way to see what they might be up to, but it was easy to get attached to the images, and forget that as a departed being, you too were meant to move on.

Many a time, Patty had watched her daughter's after her death, however, she'd never been able to bring herself to conjure Paige's whereabouts. It would have brought too much pain to bare, had she watched the daughter she never got to know. She guessed that had she bulked up the courage to see Paige, she might have realized sooner that Prue knew Paige.

Well, everything happens for a reason, she thought to herself. As she slowed her steps, she could see a small form, half resting on top of the edge of the pond, and half kneeling on the floor. Patty knew it was Prue, but she didn't want to startle her.

As she got closer she realized Prue had her back facing Patty, and had draped an arm on the pond edge, on which she rested her head. Patty walked round Prue quietly, and momentarily stood watching her. Prue's eyes were closed, and her face was streaked from tears. The thought crossed Patty's mind that her daughter was looking rather ill – from exhaustion, and she made a mental note to make sure Prue got some rest not long after they had talked.

Patty knelt next to her daughter, and softly called her name. She brushed a loose strand of Prue's hair off her face, and secured it behind her ear. Patty made a quick glance to the pond, mentally calling for images of Piper and Phoebe, and saw that they were both sleeping, desperate for rest themselves, after spending a day in grief over their sister's death.

Prue sniffed, and raised her head, wiping away any tears that might still be present. She had no more to give; she was on emotional overload, and felt sick more than anything. When she had discovered the strange pond-like structure, she'd managed to see Piper and Phoebe on the strange watery surface. Finally managing to see her sisters, even though not directly, had broken her resolve to remain strong. Her emotional barrier had completely broken down, and she had poured her heart out onto the pond edge.

She had reached a point where there had been no more to give, she was depleted of energy and the ability to cry anymore, and so resorted to resting against the pond.

"Prue," Patty said again, softly as before.

Prue turned her tired eyes to her mother, but didn't say anything. She didn't have anything to say. It hurt Patty to see the raw emotion in her daughter's eyes. In motherly instinct she pressed the back of her hand against Prue's forehead. As she expected, Prue was running with fever.

"Are you feeling alright?" As the words left her mouth, Patty realized what a stupid question it had been to ask. Prue's blank stare in reply confirmed as much. "I don't mean like that, I mean physically, you don't look too well."

"How would you feel..." Prue's quiet voice started, but didn't finish. She slightly shook her head. What was the point? There was none. Seeing concern written on her mother's face, Prue looked away, and let out a heavy breath. She wanted to ask if Patty was mad at her, angry at her, for finding out about Paige. But she couldn't find the energy to ask the question, or to care about the answer.

"Sweetheart," Patty said, worriment in her tone. "Can I talk to you?" She felt she had to ask, because if Prue was this drained, the likelihood was that Prue might not even listen. Prue gave a slight shrug of a shoulder in response. Patty shifted her legs and weight, so that she was more sitting than kneeling. She placed a hand on Prue's back, moving it gently to give some comfort. "I know you must be thinking that I'm angry at you, but I'm not, I promise, and neither is Grams or Andy."

Patty caught a glimpse of Prue rolling her eyes, not believing a word of it.

"I mean it Prue. I know we reacted badly, there is no excuse for how we responded, and I'm sorry for that." Patty didn't get the impression Prue was listening fully, and let out a disgruntled sigh. She couldn't blame Prue for feeling how she felt, but Patty wanted to make amends, so that she could help Prue move on. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I know I have; you didn't deserve that, so please accept my apology?"

Prue looked into her mother's caring brown eyes, and saw truth in them. She didn't want to be like this to her mother, but she had nothing left. In all the years that she'd wished to spend time with Patty, she had never imagined it to be like this.

"It was such a shock, to find out that you already knew about Paige and even that you spent time with her. I was locked in bewilderment, and I just froze. I didn't mean to give the impression that I was disappointed, or even disapproved of your actions." Prue continued to give Patty a blank stare, feeling physically devoid of being able to do anything else.

"Grams was just angry at herself, for thinking she'd been outsmarted by a child. You know how she loves to be right about everything – she's like you," Patty gave her daughter a small smile. "And Andy, well Andy was just being a little selfish, making it personal about him, but he now realizes that it had nothing to do with him at all. But what it all comes down to, is that we still love you Prue, we just got a little wrapped up in our own thoughts, rather than think about what all this has been like for you."

Prue inhaled a shaky breath. At a time when she needed support the most, her family had turned their backs on her. But if there was anything she'd learned from her life being cut short, it was that there was no time for holding grudges, or being focused on the negative side of things.

"I'm so proud of you Prue. You have done so much for this family, and I will always be in deep gratitude to you for that. Not only did you raise Piper and Phoebe up, single-handedly, and keep an eye on pesky Grams, but you also acted like a guardian angel for Paige." Patty's voice broke at the end, as her own emotions worked to free themselves. 

"I was far from being a guardian angel," Prue said quietly, struggling to make her voice any louder.

Hot tears burned in the corners of Patty's eyes. "No you weren't. You don't realize how much pain I was in after giving her away, the grief has stayed with me all these years. But to know that Paige had -" Patty swallowed against a lump in her throat, as tears began to fall. "To know that Paige had her big sister -".

"Mom," Prue said, her own concern rising. She'd never seen her mother break down before, and seeing this, would have broken her heart, had it not all ready been in a million pieces.

"I mean it Prue, you don't know how much pride and happiness you have given me, by secretly looking after Paige. That Paige had you to turn to, to be loved by..." Patty shook her head. "That you cared for Paige, as much as you cared for Piper and Phoebe, well, all I can say is... thank you." A sob escaped from her mouth, and she closed her eyes against her tears.

Prue pulled her mother into a tight hug, as Patty broke down after years of worry over her baby daughter. Prue gently rubbed her back, willing the tears to come out. She felt a wet kiss against her cheek, as Patty clutched on to her.

"Mom, it's OK," Prue whispered. After a few minutes, Patty's crying calmed to a stop, and she gently squeezed her daughter before breaking the embrace to look at her.

"Where you get your strength from is a wonder to me," Patty said, wiping at her last tears. "You must be an angel." She truly meant that statement, if only Prue could see it herself.

Prue's brow furrowed for just a moment, not in confusion, but in a lack of understanding. "They are my sisters; Piper, Phoebe and Paige, there's nothing angelic about it. Sisters look out for one another, it's as simple as that."

Patty was in awe of Prue's modesty, that she could see her actions as normal. "Your sisters are so lucky to have you as their elder sister."

Prue's gaze dropped slightly. "Were. They were lucky. They don't have me anymore," she whispered.

Patty sighed, now the healing, and moving on would have to start. "My darling daughter, I know this is hard." She took Prue's hand. "But we will work through this together, along with Grams and Andy. We are all here for you sweetheart."

Prue nodded. "I just don't know where to begin."

"It starts with goodbye," Patty said gently, her heart going out to her anguished daughter.

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you don't feel what I've portrayed here is too far-fetched. Prue would have been seven when Paige was born, and I personally find it totally believable to think that she would have noticed something going on.

Perhaps, I'm just a softy, and against the 'Prue vs. Paige' storyline Charmed seemed to have set out. Hmm. ;-)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews for chapter three. I'm glad you all agreed that what I proposed was entirely believable. ;)

This update is just tying up loose ends, before the fun can really begin. :-)

Oh, and Happy Easter to you all!

* * *

Prue woke up in a bedroom she didn't recognize. She was lying on her stomach, her face in the path of sun rays entering through an open window. She groaned as the brightness stung her eyes, and raised her head slightly, turning to rest on the other side of her face.

But it was too late. She was awake now, and wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. Prue had always felt a slight hint of envy towards those people who could sleep the entire morning away, even after being interrupted. All her life, she had been the type of person to wake up reasonably early in the morning; in reality, anything after 8am was considered a lie in, in her books.

Prue turned to lie on her back, yawning as her eyes adjusted to the light room. The slight breeze that came through the window brought a friendly fresh scent with it. There was an almost salty taste to it – suggesting an area close to the sea.

Prue thought back to the previous day. After having spoken to her mother, she remembered Patty 'orbing' Prue to the house she was currently in. In her exhausted state, Prue hadn't taken in all the details, just the ones that seemed the most necessary to know.

The house was back 'on Earth ground', and was used by the Elders for the recently deceased, when say, a person might be having trouble adjusting to 'Up There'. One of the most remote places in existence, her mother had said, no one would find you here. The perfect place to hide magical beings, Prue supposed.

The last thing Prue could remember was crashing onto the bed, desperate for sleep. She recalled her mother tucking her in, and stroking her hair as unconsciousness took hold.

Prue rubbed at her eyes, and blinked at her surroundings. There were no sentimental or personal belongings anywhere; truly stating the fact that this house was indeed, not a home.

Deciding it was about time to get up, Prue threw the covers off herself, and got out of bed. She took a moment to stretch her rested muscles. The aroma of fresh coffee beckoned her out of the bedroom. Her bare feet padded against the wooden floor of the hallway as she made her way to what she guessed would be the kitchen.

Andy was sitting at a table centrally placed in the room. He was holding a spoon, and was playing with the milk-sodden cereal in a bowl in front of him. Prue could tell he was lost in thought, and therefore most likely didn't hear her coming.

This is going to be awkward, she thought to herself. Prue hadn't seen either Andy or Grams after her secret was revealed. She stopped in the doorway, wondering what she could say.

Andy looked up, hearing her let out a small sigh. Their eyes met, creating only more tension than what was already between them. Andy was desperate to apologize to Prue, but at that instant he couldn't find his voice to say the words he'd been practicing in his head.

She was still as beautiful as ever, and it made him giddy with nerves to be in Prue's presence again. In all his life, he had never met anyone as beautiful and intelligently minded as she was. Just the pure sight of her took his breath away.

Prue broke eye contact with Andy, running a hand through her long hair. "Where's my mom?" She asked, hoping to break the uneasiness in the room.

With a finger pointed upwards, Andy replied, "'Up There'. She said she would be back soon though, with Grams." Their eyes met again, but this time Andy was the one to look away, turning back to his cereal.

Prue walked to the coffee machine and poured herself a mug full. She had a feeling caffeine would become a welcoming aspect to the day ahead of her.

Andy stood up from the table, his chair squealing against the floor noisily. "Prue, I owe you an apology." Turning towards her, he felt uncomfortable in how to stand, so placed a hand on the chair he had just been occupying.

Prue's beauty struck him again, as she stood there, leaning against the kitchen counter, mug between both hands, slowly being emptied of its contents. Her eyes appraised him carefully, and whilst someone else might feel the need to cower under such a gaze, he knew better than that. Prue was simply trying to gauge the intent of the person before her, if only to ready her defenses, in the possible need of them.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted yesterday," Andy started. "I had no right to act so selfishly. To be honest, I'm not so sure why I did. You needed me there, to support you, and I failed to do just that." He scratched his head, trying to remember the words he had planned to say earlier. "I guess, to the heart of it, it hurt me that you had to go through all of that on your own, that I couldn't help you with what you were having to deal with. I would have wanted to be there for you."

"Andy, you were there for me! If I hadn't have had you through those tough years, I doubt I would have been able to cope with it all. Just being able to lie in your arms, and to have you kiss away my worries, kept me sane. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to do it – to care for all of my sisters." Prue said it with such truth, that Andy could only accept it, although with a degree of difficulty.

Andy rolled his eyes upward for a moment, letting out a long, deep exhale.

"If I felt I could have told you, I would have. Unfortunately love and trust weren't the only things to think about." Andy looked back at Prue as she placed her mug on the counter. "Considering I wasn't even supposed to have known about Paige, I couldn't bear to think about what might have happened if I told someone else – if I told you."

Andy nodded, having already come to terms with the inevitability of the situation.

"Can you accept that there had been no other way to do it? That I had to keep you in the dark?"

"Of course," Andy replied. "Yesterday... I was just so desperate to be near you again, to hold you again, that I lost all reason and rationality." He shook his head. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but-"

"It doesn't sound ridiculous. You were blinded by love," Prue said, with a shrug of her shoulder.

"Even still though, I shouldn't have reacted like that. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. The one person I care about most, and I turn my back on her – it doesn't exactly say much about love." Andy's brow creased, and he closed his eyes, in guilt over his mistake. "I really am sorry, Prue."

Prue watched as Andy fought his inner demons. He had clearly been beating himself up over what he'd done. Whilst it was true that she could have done without his reaction the day before, it had inadvertently proved his love for her was still as strong as ever. At least she could be sure of that one thing right now, and what better gift was love?

She closed the gap between them, threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a strong hug. Prue felt his unexpectedness towards her actions, but nevertheless he wrapped his arms equally around her.

Andy let out another deep breath as a weight felt like it had been lifted off of his shoulders. He couldn't begin to describe how incredible it felt to have Prue in his arms again.

"You are a silly man," Prue whispered into his ear. Within all the relationships she had ever had, not one man had ever matched Andy. The way he looked at her, held her, and kissed her had always managed to make her feel like the most important person to have ever existed.

"Do you forgive me?" He breathed softly against her own ear. He then gently pulled her away, to see her reply face-to-face.

Prue's ice blue eyes matched Andy's placid blue ones. Locked in a loving moment, Prue simply responded, "yes." Andy then brushed a stray hair off her face, and brushed his lips against hers ever so softly. How long they had both been waiting to kiss one another again.

Andy made to pull away, but Prue urged him back, embracing him in for a more passionate kiss. It had been too long since Prue had felt the feeling of being completely and utterly loved, so she had it in mind to savor the moment as long as possible. That, and Andy was one hell of a good kisser.

Her skin tingled with fire as his hand at her lower back slipped under her shirt. His fingers stroked tenderly, sending warm shivers across the length her spine. How she missed this.

Neither Andy or Prue noticed the golden orbs of both Patty and Grams entering the kitchen. Grams, loudly cleared her voice, to try and gain their attention.

"Maybe we should leave them to it," Patty whispered.

However, at Grams' interruption, they pulled apart from one another, and Andy shot a quick look at Grams. Upon seeing a raised eyebrow, he turned back to Prue, and gave her a small smile. "She never did like us doing that."

"With good reason too," Grams retorted.

"Hmm, that never stopped us," Prue said. She gave him one last kiss, for added effect. Prue pulled out of Andy's embrace, to be able to face her mother and grandmother.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Patty asked, happy that Andy and Prue had managed to resolve the minor issue of the previous day.

Prue shrugged her shoulder. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Lost."

"That's expected, and entirely understandable. It will take a little while to get to grips with everything."

"When will I be able to see my sisters?" Prue asked earnestly. Seeing a look pass between Patty and Grams, she then asked, "will I be able to see them?" It hadn't exactly crossed Prue's mind that she wouldn't be able to. She could understand if it might take a bit of time, but to never see them again? Ever?

"Sweetheart, we can't be sure of anything right now." Patty gave her daughter a sad smile. "The Elders have said, that right now, it seems a little unlikely. They think that emotions would get in the way."

"Get in the way of what?"

"Defeating Shax for starters," Patty said.

"And accepting Paige into the Power of Three. If you were to see Piper and Phoebe now, they wouldn't welcome Paige into their lives like they need to. They would hold onto the idea that they could somehow get you back." Grams said, a little too honestly.

Prue's brow furrowed as she thought about the very real situation of literally being replaced, as a sister and a Charmed One. In no way did she hold anything against Paige, but being ousted from her place in the family did cause heartbreak. Paige deserved to know her sisters, but Prue had always hoped that would include her, not to be a product of her own death.

"This is the only way for all of them to be safe," Andy said softly. "With the Power of Three at play, Piper, Phoebe and Paige can equally have their powers to protect themselves, and each other, from warlocks and demons." Andy knew the best way to get Prue to accept the inevitability of her sisters was to show her the silver lining. First and foremost, she would be concerned about their safety, so it seemed only logical to draw on that.

Prue sighed. "They need to move on with their lives," she said more to herself than anyone else. "The longer they think about me, the longer they remain vulnerable to attacks. I can't let that happen to them..."

"You have to let them go," her mother said soothingly.

Prue breathed in a shaky breath. "I'm going to miss them."

Andy placed his arm around Prue, squeezing her against him as he kissed the top of her head. He knew what it meant to have to let the living continue their lives without you; it was just something you had to accept. He had had to do the same thing when he died, with Prue. It had hurt to think that she would have to move on without him, and find love in someone else, but in the end he had only wanted for her to find happiness.

"Enough of all this sadness already!" Grams exclaimed. "Not everything is doom and gloom!" Penny received a weird look from Patty she couldn't decipher. "What?"

Patty slightly nodded in Prue's direction, implying the need for Grams to say her apology. "Do that thing we discussed," she said lowly.

Penny gave her daughter an exasperated look. She did not apologize to anyone. Penny Halliwell was always right about everything; that was just the way things worked.

"Mother!" Patty said shortly. She flicked her eyes from Grams, to Prue, back to Grams.

Grams grunted. Then she looked at her granddaughter. Andy still had his arm around Prue, comforting her as she dealt with being without her sisters. The pain in her eyes was evident, and convinced Penny that she needed to do the right thing. "OK, alright already," she said to Patty's insistence.

"Prudence," Grams started with one of her well known smiles. Prue looked up upon hearing her name. "Care to accept my apology?" She asked sweetly. Well, as sweet as a forbidding dead witch with quite a personality could manage. To those who knew her, and her temper, sweetness did not come naturally to Penelope Halliwell.

Patty cleared her throat, not in anyway subtle. However, she'd had to deal with her mother's arrogance many a time, and subtlety never came into it.

Grams let out a sound similar to a growl. "Fine. Prudence, I apologize deeply for my attitude yesterday." She sounded like a troublesome little girl who had been told what to say. "I acted out of order, and should have thought before I spoke."

Prue glanced at Patty. "You're making Grams apologize?"

"Well she should!" Patty exclaimed.

Prue let out a small laugh. "Grams is possibly the most stubborn person in the world, there's no way she would apologize. That would be saying she was wrong." At the last sentence, Prue cocked her head at Grams. "Grams is never wrong, now is she?"

Grams exhaled an irritated breath. "You know exactly where to push my buttons," she said, squinting her eyes at Prue. "But nevertheless, I was... incorrect in how I behaved yesterday, and I'm sorry for that."

"Wow, did I just receive an apology from the one and only Penny Halliwell?!" Prue said in mock disbelief. "Can I have that in writing?"

"I still stand by what I said though, you shouldn't have done it behind my back," Grams raised a hand to falsely check her nails. She was still right at the end of the day, in her opinion. Of course she was.

Patty rolled her eyes. Typical Grams.

"You do what you have to do," Prue said heavily.

Grams sighed. Prue was right, she had done what she felt she had to do. The fact that it went against Grams' own actions wasn't the point. If there was one thing she had taught her granddaughters, it was to follow their instincts, and Prue had followed hers quite clearly. She couldn't argue about that.

Sensing defeat, Penny let her resolve disappear for just a moment. She hadn't wanted to hurt her granddaughter, and she was shamed that she had. "I'm sorry, Prudence. Truly, I am."

Prue smiled at her grandmother. She knew that Grams hadn't intended to be malevolent, and as such, her apology was a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness. She could accept that.

"So where do I go from here?" Prue asked. She too, had had enough of the emotional roller coaster they had all been riding.

"Well that's what we've come to discuss, dear," Grams said excitedly. "The Elders have-". Patty cut her off by loudly clearing her throat. "Oh right, you want to say it," Grams said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes mother, I do," Patty gave her mother a hard stare, then turned back to Prue. A genuine smile crept onto her face. "The Elders have granted that you have another chance, to live down here again, with Andy."

Grams beamed at Prue. "You two can have the normal life you've always wished for."

Prue stared at the both of them, mouth slightly agape. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes you did," Andy insisted. He now smiled at her. "We can finally be together Prue, and start a life like the one we dreamed about during high school. We've got a second chance at life."

Grams watched Prue. She stood there, disbelief and confusion clearly running through her head. Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she'd just been told.

"Aren't you happy?" Patty asked slowly.

"I – I think I need to sit down," Prue slid out a chair and sat in front of the table. She placed her elbows on the tabletop roughly, holding her head in her hands.

Andy sat down next to her. "What's going through your mind?"

"That this is all a bit overwhelming." Prue raked her hands through her hair.

"I know it is," he said quietly. Prue dropped a hand to the table and so Andy placed his hand over it, squeezing gently.

"'They' see the sacrifices you both have made for the greater good, particularly for the greater good of the magical world. Both your lives were lost because you sacrificed yourselves for magic," Patty said.

"And the Elders want to give you something back for that. They agree that you both deserve to be given the chance to live again," Grams added.

Prue looked at Andy, into his handsome eyes; the eyes she'd fallen in love with as a child, and the eyes she had found so much comfort in, over the years. Of course she wanted to have a chance of living again, with him at her side; who wouldn't want that?

The concept was so surreal. She had wanted this for the longest of times, more than anything she'd ever wished for. She knew that he too, wanted this as much as she did.

Andy smiled at her, seeing her brain working away. She pulled herself to sit straighter and placed her other hand over his.

"I definitely want this," Prue said with confidence. "I am grateful for this, but... I just need some time first. I can't hop from one life into the next; I need time to get over my death, before I embrace a new life."

Patty, Andy and Grams all gave her similar smiles.

"Perfect answer," Grams said with a wink. "Well, I certainly know where the intelligence lies in this family."

"Now I'm more confused," Prue confessed. Giving her mother a puzzled look.

"Showing that you can't jump straight into a new life, is even more of a testament to why you deserve this so much. That you want to spend time dealing with your own grief, to then be able to move on, is exactly what the Elders needed to see." Seeing Prue still locked in confusion, Patty continued. "You've done the right thing, sweetheart, that's all you need to understand."

Prue's eyes wandered back to Andy's. "Do you get any of this?" He smiled at her question. With a hand at her back, he leaned in, and kissed her on the forehead. She was truly incredible, in his eyes.

"So much for meadows of heaven," Prue muttered with an emerging smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

Paige Matthews, a young social work secretary, sat at her desk in a haze of boredom. She loved being able to help people, but being an assistant, and not a fully-fledged social worker, meant that sometimes things got boring. Mega-boring.

She popped a CD into her computer's disk drive, hoping to quietly revive some life into her unexciting morning. Paige then focused her attention momentarily to her computer screen, squinting at the text in front of her. Today certainly did not feel like a day for doing much work.

Out the corner of her eye, she noticed her lit candle had been blown out by a mysterious wind. Weird, she thought to herself. She got up from her chair, walking away from her desk, oblivious to the newspaper that landed on the floor next to her.

Paige frowned upon seeing it. Doubly weird. How'd that get there? She shook her head, someone must have just dropped it after passing her cubicle. She quickly bent down and picked it up. Returning to full height, Paige scanned the room for who it might have belonged to.

"Huh," Paige said to herself. No one seemed like an obvious 'owner'. Hell, it was only a newspaper, it didn't matter that much.

Paige glanced at the paper, noticing it was folded at the obituary section. One notice stuck out from the rest. 'Prudence Halliwell' was the name titled at the top. Reading on, it said 'Funeral Services will be held today at Memorial Cemetery, 11:00AM.'

Paige flopped into her chair heavily. Re-reading the text. "Prudence Halliwell," she said aloud. This had to be a coincidence, she thought to herself. A very bad coincidence. Or her brain was just jumping to conclusions before she could properly think about it.

Sure, she knew of a Prue. And Prue was short for Prudence... but come on – there must be a few Prudence's in San Francisco, surely? But Halliwell... Halliwell...

A few years ago Paige had looked into the history of her biological mother, after her adoptive parents had tragically died in a car accident. She'd been disappointed to learn very little, and had only come to think that there was a slight chance she might be related to the Halliwell's. Their mother was dead though, so she hadn't pushed it any farther.

"Prudence Halliwell," Paige said again. Could it be?

She had never known Prue's last name. Ever. Therefore, there was a chance she could be this Prudence; Prudence Halliwell.

Grief pulled at her heart. What if this was the Prue she knew? What if she was dead? No, she couldn't be...

Prue had been in Paige's life for as long as she could remember. She'd known her all her life. From childhood up until present time Prue had always been there. Admittedly not always hugely involved, like might be expected of close friends, but still, Prue had been there through everything that had happened through Paige's life.

She knew there was a reason Prue had remained at a distance, never disclosing her full name or fully acting like a friend might be expected. She just didn't know what that reason was.

Prue had always felt like a mother, even more so, a sister than simply a friend. Paige had always been thankful for having her in her life, having her to turn to and discreetly watching over her. She knew that Prue had been protecting her, somehow, from something... but what?

Paige hadn't ever felt the courage to ask. She just accepted the occasional times they met up, and never expected anything more. She felt that if something more was meant to happen, then it would, in time.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Paige looked again at the newspaper. She had to go to this memorial service, to find out if it was Prue or not. She couldn't begin to imagine how she would feel if it was. She just hoped with all her heart it wasn't.

Paige grabbed her jacket, completely dismissing her boss, Mr Cowan as he asked her about whether she'd found a particular study or not.

He asked again, so Paige had no choice but to say, "Yeah. It's in the printer. I'm sorry, I have to go."

She quickly made to leave, ignoring his calls after her. Work didn't matter right now. Her gut twisted in anxiety as she left the building.

What would she do without her guardian angel?

* * *

Two hours later, Paige was sitting in a chair at the memorial service, feeling sad and nervous all at the same time. The service had drawn to an end, and people were beginning to line up, to pay their respects to the family.

Paige recognized Piper Halliwell, she had visited P3 on and off over the past year or so. She knew Piper was the owner and manager of the club. She noticed the sister standing next to Piper. It must be so hard to have lost their sister, but at least they had each other for support.

Paige joined the line, but hesitated. Was this the right thing to do? She didn't have reason to think the Prue she knew was part of the family she thought she may have a tie too... A voice in the back of her head said otherwise. If Prue was this Prue Halliwell, the same Halliwell's she believed she shared a mother with, then that would surely explain a lot of things. Not everything, but at least it would explain why Prue had been intent on keeping in touch with her.

Paige was now the last of the mourners to pay their respects, and so had no option but to approach. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said to the other sister.

"Thank you," Phoebe replied. "How did you know Prue? From work?"

"Work?" Paige asked sheepishly.

"The magazine, 415. Are you a photographer too?" Phoebe Halliwell, the youngest sister to Prue, looked at the person in front of her carefully. She didn't get the impression she knew her from anywhere, but she felt like she should recognize her from somewhere.

Photographer. Oh God. Paige knew Prue hadn't long ago turned to a career of photography. She remembered the day Prue had admitted to quitting her job at an auction house, and then with difficulty, landing a job as a photographer. Prue had been so happy, her smile huge as she shared the news.

Did this mean the Prudence Halliwell lying in the beautiful ivory-colored coffin, was indeed, Prue?

Paige looked into Phoebe's pained brown eyes. The question remained unanswered. However, she didn't feel she could say how she might possibly know her sister. "No. Just... just from around, you know." Understatement of the year! "Was Prue... I..." Paige wanted to ask something that would fully place whether this was Prue or not, but couldn't think how to do it.

It didn't cross Phoebe's mind that this woman had called her sister Prue, everyone who knew her called her Prue. She did however wonder how this stranger knew her older sister. There had been quite a few people who had turned up that she didn't recognize, but this young woman in front of her... She had to know her from somewhere... Phoebe couldn't shake her strange feeling off, but then she was caught in a whole mix of emotions right now.

"This is going to sound strange," Paige started. "But do you have a photo of Prue?" She asked, quietly, softly, not wanting to cause further grief.

Phoebe blinked at her. No one had asked her that today. "Um, no... not on me, but if you come back to the manor, where everyone has been invited to after this service, you will certainly see some there."

Paige's eyes faltered at the coffin. Her eyes welled up with tears as she considered the looming reality that this was Prue.

"Have we met before?" Phoebe questioned.

"No. I don't… I don't think so. Anyway, my condolences." Paige quickly brought her gaze away from the coffin, and responded in a low voice.

"Thank you," Phoebe said again. She shook Paige's hand, and immediately her mind was hit with a premonition.

Paige panicked as the woman before her shook at her touch, and stumbled to the floor. As people gathered around her, Paige quickly left, feeling she had extended her stay. This day was quickly filling up with weird occurrences.

Paige decided to go home, rather than return to work. She felt shook up, and too confused to be in the right mentality to work. She didn't care if Mr Cowan didn't agree.

Once in her apartment, Paige leaned heavily against her door after closing it behind her. "Prue," she whispered to the room. A tear fell from her eye, as her head told her she'd just been to the funeral of her closest friend. Her heart yearned for it to be someone else, but she couldn't rule it either way.

She didn't have a phone number to ring, Prue had always rung her. Paige let out an annoyed breath as she realized she had no way of contacting Prue. Prue had always been the one to initiate contact, and somehow it had always worked.

Paige rummaged through her belongings as she searched for her diary. She wasn't exactly the type of person to be so organized, but Prue had insisted on her owning one, so that they could schedule their get-togethers efficiently. Paige flicked through the pages, turning to the pages for the week ahead. She saw what she expected.

Prue had arranged to meet her at the end of the week, for a mid-morning coffee.

"I can't wait that long!" Paige shouted. Paige slumped onto her sofa, holding her head into her hands. What could she do? "Prue, you stubborn mule..."

Neither Paige, Phoebe or Piper could have expected what else would happen that day. What did happen showed just how secrets create such huge problems. The truth of lies was fully revealed.

After Phoebe's premonition of Paige being attacked by Shax, she had gone with Cole to save the 'innocent'. However, everyone had been shocked to see Paige orb.

Questions had been raised, and concern rose as the identity of the woman remained a mystery. Cole had returned from a visit to the Underworld to learn that the Source believed the 'innocent' could reconstitute the Power of Three.

However, Leo had returned from the Elders, being told something he had been kept in the dark about for as long as he'd been the girls whitelighter. When Piper saw Leo struggling to explain what he knew, she had quickly decided to take the matter into her own hands. Grams had been summoned to explain what was going on.

That was when Patty's secret had been spilled. Piper and Phoebe were told about their baby half-sister. This sister who was half-witch half-whitelighter due to heritage from her mother and father, the whitelighter Sam. They were told also that Paige was the secret to continuing their Charmed destiny.

It had been a lot to deal with. How unfortunate it was that the same day they buried their beloved eldest sister, that Piper and Phoebe also learned about their secret youngest sister. No one had said life would be fair, but that didn't make it any easier.

As luck would have it, Paige had shown up at the manor that evening, and together, the three of them had managed to finally vanquish Shax, and ultimately avenge Prue's death by his demonic hand.

Overwhelming was not a strong enough word to describe the day. They had all gone through more than could possibly be deserved, but the defeat over Shax had pushed the threshold level for Paige. She had fled the manor, in a state of complete bewilderment.

* * *

Prue sat in front of the pond 'Up There'. She had watched the most recent events of the day, and felt helpless in being able to do anything about it.

She was supposed to be asleep, in bed with Andy at the remote house they'd been staying at for the past week. Prue had settled next to Andy, only to lie there, hearing him gently snore whilst insomnia ate it's way through her brain.

For the past couple of days she'd managed to secure the ability to orb like Andy, Patty and Penny could. She had only used it to go 'Up There' and then back down to the house. That was what she'd been told she could do anyway.

So that's what she had done tonight. She'd orbed to the pond, to check on her sisters, and had not felt content at what she'd seen. Not at all. Her concern was for all three of her sisters. It made her muscles tense with uneasiness that she was powerless to help them.

She felt slightly relived that Piper and Phoebe had one another to turn to... but Paige... Paige really needed someone with her right now.

Then a thought entered Prue's mind. Perhaps she could help... Prue stood up, quickly scanning for anyone around that might see her. Thankfully no one was nearby.

"OK... OK... I can do this," Prue said to herself. She shifted her weight between her feet, and clasped her hands together in concentration. "Just focus."

Prue closed her eyes tightly, and called upon the mentality she had learned to use to be able to orb. She devoted her thoughts to Paige, willing herself to orb to Paige's whereabouts.

After a few moments, Prue opened one eye slightly. She hadn't felt like she'd orbed. "Well that's because I haven't." Indeed, Prue was still in front of the pond. She closed her eyes for a second time.

Prue concentrated again on Paige, but this time lending her thoughts to the love she held for her baby sister.

Then she felt it. She was orbing. Orbing! Yes! She'd done it!

Upon feeling her feet on hard floor again, after a minuscule moment of 'moving' Prue opened her eyes.

"Uh," Prue pressed a hand to her stomach as dizziness brought about nausea. "Not good."

Paige, having been lying on her sofa watching the TV vacantly, jumped up from being startled. She momentarily stared at Prue, then jumped over her sofa reaching for her golf umbrella – the only thing she owned with a sharp pointy end.

Paige took a defensive stance, pointing the umbrella at Prue. "Your supposed to be dead."

Prue was gradually getting over the sick feeling orbing had graced her with, and put a hand to her hip upon seeing what she was being threatened with. "Last time we had a sword fight, I won fairly quickly."

Paige didn't back down though. This day had been too weird. This was just adding to a very long list of unexplainable occurrences.

Prue could see the tear stains on Paige's pale skin, and remembered why she had even thought to come here.

"I saw your coffin today! Prudence Halliwell! That's who you are, right?!" Paige said in a heated tone. "You're dead!"

A tear fell down Paige's cheek, pulling on Prue's heartstrings. "Yes."

"Yes?! YES?! That's all you have to say!" Paige pointed with the umbrella. "You're a part of it all aren't you? You're a witch! Your sisters... they turned me into a..." Paige fumbled on her words as she fought against the days events running through her mind.

Prue slowly advanced towards Paige, and put a hand on the umbrella, wanting to take it away. As soon as Prue touched it, Paige dropped her hand from holding onto the umbrella. Prue tucked it back into a stand, and then turned to her sister.

"Paige, I know this is a little freaky-"

"Don't you dare come near me witch! I'll... I'll..." Paige scanned the room for anything she could use against Prue. "I'll pour water on you!"

Prue smirked. "Sweetie, I'm not that kind of witch. This isn't the Wizard of Oz – water won't melt me."

A desperate moan escaped from Paige. She had no idea what to do, or why a dead person was in her living room, or why any of this was happening to her... She didn't ask for this. She had enough problems already, she certainly didn't need anymore to add to her plate.

"If you're dead, how are you here? Why are you here?" Paige asked, taking a step backwards, when Prue took one forwards.

"Don't try to understand any of this right now... I even barely do," Prue said, melancholy evident in her voice. "I know you've had a lot to deal with, but this is what you've been searching for your entire life; your family."

Paige shook her head. "I'm not a freak like they are..."

"Piper and Phoebe are your sisters, sweetie. Sister witches. You are not alone in this, I know this is so hard, we all went through it when we learned about magic." Prue knew Paige wasn't believing a word of it, and it bothered her that she wasn't getting through to her sister. She stepped forwards, and placed her hands on the Paige's arms. "Just give them a chance to explain all of this, and then you can decide how you feel."

Paige looked into Prue's eyes. She felt so scared about everything. Who she was, who Prue was... who her 'sisters' were...

"Just trust me, Paige," Prue said. "Please let your sisters have a chance, that's all I ask."

Paige sniffed. "You're my sister," she whispered. She wiped at her tears. She hated crying.

"You bet your butt I am!" Prue managed to receive a small smile from Paige. "Your eldest sister, and never forget that."

"Piper and Phoebe... they don't know about you and me, do they?" Paige asked.

Prue sighed. "No, they don't."

Paige shared a look with Prue, and saw the love and commitment she had to her family. Paige had so many questions, but just like before, she had a feeling the answers weren't going to come easily.

"I'd better go," Prue said, walking away from Paige.

"Wait, Prue," Paige urged. She stared at her eldest sister for a split-second and then pulled her into a hug. "Don't leave."

Prue embraced the youngest Halliwell in return. "I have to, but I will be watching over you. Always."

"Will I see you again?" Paige said quietly, fearing the answer.

"I don't know," Prue replied heavily. She pulled Paige away from her, to look at her baby sister one last time. "I hope so. Turn to Piper and Phoebe, they are good sisters to have."

Paige could only nod. Her voice failed, as she made herself let go of Prue.

"Bye Paige," Prue said, with a slow wave of her hand.

And then she was gone, in a wisp of glittering lights. "Bye Prue," Paige whispered after her departure. Although the visit had been brief, it had helped bring quiet to the storm of the emotions raging through Paige.

Prue, however, was not done. She figured that if she was already 'here', then surely she should visit her other sisters? A check from the pond, before she had left, revealed that Cole was dodging bounty hunters, and Leo was with another charge. Piper and Phoebe had both been asleep.

Prue focused her thoughts to the manor, and her sisters, and successfully orbed to the upstairs hallway, serving all three of their bedrooms. I'm getting good at this, Prue thought to herself. However, the nausea still reared its ugly head.

She stood in front of Phoebe's bedroom door, and opened it just a crack, checking that her sister was indeed asleep. It was too dark to see her face, but equally quiet enough to know no one was awake.

Prue tiptoed to the bed, smiling at Phoebe. Phoebe always had this childish innocence to her when she was asleep, but Prue wondered if that just came with being the youngest within the household.

Carefully sitting on the edge, Prue tucked the bed covers against her sister. She stroked Phoebe's soft hair, and kissed her forehead. "Be good Pheebs, at least you aren't the youngest anymore."

She knew Phoebe would welcome Paige into her heart easier than Piper could. But she also knew that as the new 'mediator', being the new middle sister, it would be up to Phoebe to keep the peace between Piper and Paige. Prue knew Phoebe could do it, her sister had such a huge heart.

"Look after Piper and Paige for me," Prue whispered. A small smile crept onto Phoebe's face. She rolled over, snuggling against the covers. "I'll miss you."

Careful to disturb Phoebe anymore, Prue gently got up from the bed, and silently left the room. She pulled the door shut as slowly as she could, causing the final 'click' to be barely audible.

Walking to Piper's door, Prue felt a stab at her heart. Whilst she loved all three of her sisters equally, she couldn't deny that she had shared a unique bond with Piper. Having only two years age difference between them, it had been easier to talk about things together. Ultimately that was the reason they had been so close.

Likewise with Phoebe, Prue was slow and careful to enter the room. Sitting on the bed, Prue felt her eyes begin to burn, but forced herself to keep from crying. She needed to be strong now. The entire past week had been full of enough tears to bring about Noah's Ark. There was no need for anymore.

"Oh... Piper..." Prue sighed. "This is going to be hardest on you." Prue tucked some of Piper's hair behind her ear, and continued the movement afterward. "It's going to be a shock, having to be the eldest now, but no matter how much you deny it, you do have the strength to do this."

Piper made a slight noise, and Prue worried that she was beginning to wake up. Waiting a few moments for any further noises, Prue relaxed when there were none.

"I have complete faith that you can lead the Charmed Ones. I know how much self-doubt you are going to have, but please take strength from what we had together. You have the power in you to do what's necessary. I'll always be there for you, just like before." Prue kissed Piper's forehead, but lingered, wanting to hold her sister for just a little longer.

Unconsciously, Piper lightly wrapped her arms around her older sister.

"How can I let you all go... god, it hurts how much I care for you," Prue whispered, one single tear falling from her face, onto Piper's cheek. "I love you, so much. Never doubt that."

Prue painfully pulled herself from her sister. "This is so hard", she said to herself. Stroking Piper's hair one last time, Prue closed her eyes, and mentally pulled herself to the house she was supposed to be in.

As she disappeared, Prue failed to notice Piper call out her name. Piper groggily sat up, staring at her open bedroom door. She felt something wet on her cheek, and wiped at the tear Prue had left. Seeing nothing, or more correctly, no one there, Piper fell back against her pillows.

Prue gripped the kitchen counter as she reappeared in the darkened house. She may be getting better at orbing, but she'd been doing it way too frequently for her stomach to handle. Bracing herself against the sink, Prue swallowed desperately to keep the bile down.

Who knew orbing could take so much out of you.

Feeling a little more stable, Prue walked to the bedroom she was temporarily sharing with Andy. She could make out his dark form beneath the covers of the bed. His slight snoring was the only thing to be heard, and it brought her a sense of contentment that she had him to return to.

She quickly changed out of her clothes, and instead pulled on the white shirt she'd been wearing earlier in bed. It was one of Andy's, and of course it was massive on her petite frame, but it made her feel secure to have his scent enveloping her entirely.

She sat on the side of the bed, her back to Andy as she did up the buttons.

Andy made a noise, and rolled towards her. She didn't think anything of it until she felt a warm hand at her lower back.

"Where did you go?" Andy asked, yawning. "You've been gone awhile."

"I couldn't sleep," Prue replied, fastening the last button.

Andy stretched and sat up behind her. He nestled his head on her shoulder, taking time to smell her hair. "What's wrong?" He breathed against her ear, sleep making his voice quiet and soft.

Prue stared out the dark window opposite her. What could she say?

At her silence, Andy wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed the side of her head. "Want to talk?"

Prue couldn't deny that Andy had been superb in supporting her this past week. She really couldn't have asked for more. She placed her hand on the arm he had around her.

"It's OK," she said quietly. She turned and gave him a soft kiss.

Unable to properly see her eyes or facial features in the dark, Andy had to take her word for it. He gently pulled her against him, lying down so that he could hold her whilst she slept. Shuffling to be under the covers, Prue laid her head against his chest as he ran his hand in small circles against her back.

"I think we should start our new lives soon," she whispered. She meant it with all her heart.

Andy took a deep inhale, and kissed the top of her head. Things were slowly getting to where they needed to be.

The wheel of the world slowly cranked round it's circular path, as the promise of new life and new encounters beckoned in the very near future.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Well it's been over 2 years since I've published anything for this fiction so I'm not so sure who'll end up reading this! I would like to point out that shortly after my last published chapter my life got very chaotic but I have never forgotten about this story and have actually written this next part 3 times!

It's a bit of a waffle to begin with, mainly because I really want to start getting towards the good interesting parts!

Thanks to anyone who reads this (and doubly thanks to any reviews that I'm not expecting to pop up!).

* * *

Andy took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he took in the calming atmosphere of the still house. He's just got back from work and that felt good. As tiring as his day had been he was _home_ _from_ _work_. Not something he'd been able to enjoy for the last two years.

He opened his eyes and glanced around the house. His house. His and Prue's. It didn't look much like theirs at the moment but they were working on it.

The sun sent in warm rays through the open blinds and the golden color made him feel sleepy as sunset approached slowly.

A small smile crept onto his face as he considered the previous two months. It had been one hell of a time.

The Elders hadn't been pleased about Prue's visit to her sisters, but with what they had in store for both her and Andy it hadn't been a huge issue. Prue was ready to get on with her new life with Andy and that's when they were given the conditions of their second beginning.

Once back in the 'normal' world the Elders would put a spell over Prue and Andy so that no one would recognize who they used to be, but rather take them to be new people. Another spell would be cast over the Charmed Ones so that they could move on from Prue's death and to doubly ensure they never recognized her. With that though, they could live wherever they wanted. They had the chance to completely reinvent themselves somewhere totally new. Andy knew however, that that wouldn't be the case.

Even before either of them spoke up about where they could live, he knew it was only going to be San Francisco, to begin with at least. As much as she was willing to move on, for the first part Prue needed to be able to see that her sisters were happy and well. Andy accepted this with no questions asked. He didn't care where they were, just that they were together.

And that is when it all began. One morning Prue and Andy didn't wake up in the remote 'safe house' for magical beings. Instead they woke up in the house that Andy stood currently. To an extent part of their new lives had already been planned. Their jobs for instance were sitting, waiting for them. Andy practically had his old job back and Prue was a freelance photographer. Although it might have been nicer to completely choose their own paths they both agreed that they would have gone for the same thing anyway.

Their lives were pretty simple. They woke up, went to work, got home and enjoyed the time they had together, to then do it all over again the next day. For Andy, he couldn't be happier. He finally had the life he wanted and had so desperately waited for with Prue. He was slightly worried about her though.

He had had a much longer time to accept his death yet Prue hadn't really had all that long, and even less time to accept having a new life. Sometimes he could tell by a look in her eye or a slight forced smile that she was struggling at times with it all. He expected it and didn't make a deal out of it, but just let her know that he was there for her.

Andy also knew that a part of it was that she was anxious to check up on her sisters. In the two months that they'd been in their new home she hadn't gone to see them once. For one, the Elders had requested she wait awhile but also in her own mind she wanted to let the new Power of Three bond properly. They needed to in order to be safe. And that was far more important than any heartache she was feeling.

Andy sighed again. She was a truly complicated person when she chose to be, but he loved her for it. He checked his watch. She was late back from a photo shoot. Now that she was a freelance photographer she seemed to always be on demand.

As he had that thought he heard her come through the front door, talking on the phone with a slightly raised voice.

"... I haven't got any spare shooting time this week," he heard her sternly say. She walked through to the kitchen where he was stood leaning against one of the side counters.

He could tell her mind was busy on her conversation as she hadn't looked up at him yet. Instead she dropped her car keys on the table and dumped her camera bag next to them. With her spare hand she rummaged through her camera bag and pulled out her diary.

Flicking through the pages she said, "I might be able to squeeze in a shoot towards the end of next week."

The voice at the other end wasn't clear enough to make out the words but whoever it was definitely didn't sound happy.

"That's all I can offer you," she paused. "I don't work weekends." She stopped looking at her diary and stood in a way that implied she was getting frustrated. "I do have a life outside of being a photographer you know. Either take what I've offered you or find someone else. Think about it and contact me tomorrow during _office hours_ and not _when I'm at home_." To fully emphasize what she said she hung up the phone and placed it on the table a bit too hardly.

She let out a groan and reached for a pen so that she could write in her diary.

Andy walked over and standing behind her started to massage her neck and shoulders. As his hands worked he felt her muscles starting to relax.

"Hey," she said softly as she scribbled something. "How was your day?"

"I would say 'long, tiring' but I think you beat me with that. Plus everyday seems long and tiring when you've been doing nothing for 2 years." He moved his hands to put his arms around her waist and gently kissed her neck.

It took a split second for her to drop her pen and turn her attention away from her diary. She let her shoulders drop, tense free and lent more towards him. Her eyes closed as her nerve endings sent warm shivers down her spine.

Andy kissed her skin more persistently and reached her collar bone – a place that always made her melt when touched.

"Umm... that feels... good" she let out dreamily.

"Dare I ask how your day was?" He asked, never leaving his lips too far from her skin.

She barely heard the question, her attention completely on how relaxed he was making her feel. When he ever so lightly let his teeth graze against her collar bone her eyes shot open and she turned around in his arms to face him.

He flashed her a boyish grin, knowing that he'd hit a hot point. "Did you like that?"

She flashed her own cheeky little smile and locked her hands behind his neck. "Oh you know me too well." She stood up on tiptoes to reach to kiss him. He teased by pulling away but then quickly lent in for a deep kiss.

Their tongues, having met so many times before were completely familiar with one another, but there was always excitement and unimaginable lust each and every time.

Using a hand he moved her stuff from behind her on the table, and then lifted her so that she was sitting on it.

She let out a soft moan before saying, "you want to have sex now?"

"It's all I could think about at work," he replied with a lopsided smile. "And seeing as we are going out tonight we might not otherwise get a chance." He sent a hand up under her shirt along her spine.

She didn't even hear the part about going out. All her mind heard was 'Andy, sex, now.' And that's all she needed to hear. Her hands started to unbutton his shirt as their lips met again.

They had been sex-mad everyday since arriving at their new home. They did after all, have lost time to make up for.

* * *

Piper Halliwell stared at herself in the mirror. It had been a strange two months. Getting to know her baby sister Paige, teaching her about magic and having her move into the manor all seemed to happen so quickly.

In that time Piper hadn't felt that much time had been given to talking or even really thinking about Prue. But she didn't blame anyone – she felt the same way that they all did. There was a kind of strange contentment about Prue that none of them could really explain either to each other or to themselves.

Piper pulled open a drawer of the dresser and from the back pulled out a little black velvet box. Pulling it open revealed a necklace with a little heart attached to the simple chain. It was Prue's. Andy had given it to her and she'd worn it all the time. Piper was convinced that they had left it with Prue when she died.

She thought back to the day she found it.

It had been a morning not long after her sister's death. Piper had had a strange dream about Prue the night before and when she woke up had found the necklace lying next to her on the bed. The clasp had been open – as if it had fallen off the person that had been wearing it.

Piper hadn't known what to do with it. She'd decided to not tell anyone, least cause more grief and had put it safely away in the little velvet box. At times she'd wished she could just put it on, and feel like she had Prue's strength and power. She'd felt like that less and less recently. She'd even forgotten she had it a couple of days ago.

She frowned. She didn't want to forget. She didn't want to forget about her beloved older sister. She wished she could talk to Leo about it but she worried that if he knew he'd take the necklace away.

She sighed and snapped the box closed. Returning it to it's hiding place, she made sure it was completely out of sight.

She sat up straight and looked in the mirror again. She tried to tame a loose lock of hair but to no avail. Stranding up she brushed her hands over her dress and picked up her handbag. Another night working at P3. Business had been picking up recently so she'd enlisted help from Phoebe and ultimately Paige more than she was really comfortable with.

* * *

Andy sat on their bed, fully dressed and completely ready for their night out. Prue, however, in typical womanly fashion was taking like what seemed forever. She was in the en-suite bathroom for the bedroom and whilst the door was open a couple of inches he had no idea what she was doing in there.

He lied back on the bed. Wondering how much longer he was going to have to wait.

"I'm almost done!" She shouted but still sounded muffled through the door.

"Yeah right," Andy said quietly to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Women." He could here Prue moving about in the other room but she still didn't make an appearance.

After a few minutes, which felt like a lifetime to him, she finally stepped out.

"Just need some jewelery," she said more to herself than him.

Andy made no attempt to show interest but remained lying down with his eyes closed. She could still take plenty of time choosing jewelery.

She slapped his knee as she walked over to a tall chest of drawers which had all her accessories and most importantly a mirror on top of it. "Don't fall asleep."

He let out a noisy breath and roused himself as she started rummaging.

"Where are we going tonight? You never said," she asked. She stopped rummaging and added, "you haven't seen my little heart necklace have you?"

He sat up so that he was leaning on his forearms. "When was the last..." he lost his train of thought as he took in the beauty before him.

No wonder Prue had taken so long to get ready, she looked _amazing_. Just watching her putting on hooped earrings turned him on. She was wearing a black dress that in no way shouted out 'look at me' but it shaped against her curves perfectly and exposed her sexy legs in such a way that meant people most definitely _would_ be looking at her. Whether they meant to or not.

He had always found her natural beauty as something to not be covered up by makeup, but tonight nothing was being covered up but rather being completely complimented. He felt very lucky in that moment to have her as his lover. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, whether she was in a striking dress like tonight, or whether she was only wearing one of his shirts; she was also incredibly intelligent, smart, caring... sexy... His thoughts were broken again when she spoke.

"Hello? You were starting to say something," her eyebrows were raised as she questioned his silence.

"Uh..." He tried to think about what was on his mind before he got lost in his thoughts of her. It was useless. The more he looked at her the more his mind became blank.

As she watched him she realized the effect she was having on him. She smiled to herself. She walked over slowly to him, pushing some final bracelets over her hand to rest against her wrist.

He instantly sat up, his mouth falling open as she got closer.

When she was right in front of him, she teased and lent over to reach for her handbag on the bed, his eyes trained on her the whole time.

He let out a short involuntary moan as her body brushed up against his. Once she had her handbag she straightened herself and stood in front of him. He was totally transfixed and she'd not had this kind of effect on him for a long time.

She put her free hand at the back of his head, her bracelets clinked as she did so. He stared up at her, his breathing quickened as she lowered her head to his. He expected a kiss but instead she placed her lips precariously close to his ear.

She felt his hands lightly hold her waist, wanting her nearer.

"Do you like this dress?" She whispered, knowing her warm breath would tickle his ear.

He let out a noise that suggested words were too much, but when his hands gripped her tighter she let out a small laugh.

She kissed his ear slowly and softly, working her way closer to his neck. She asked again, "where are we going tonight?" Her lips continued to work against his skin.

He moved so that they were closer and grunted, "sex".

She immediately stopped kissing him and instead straightened to look him in the eye. "What?"

He snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "What?"

"So we are going to 'sex'?" She said with a cheeky smile. "Is that seriously all you think about?" She help but let out a burst of laughter.

He smiled and shook his head again. He dropped his head so that it was resting against her stomach and let out a sigh that sounded like embarrassment.

"Aww, is Andy still completely mesmerized by my awesomeness?" She said in an immature voice. She rubbed his back in a 'consoling' manner. "I'm sure any other man would feel exactly the same."

He looked up and smiled. Rising to his feet he said, "and how can you be so sure?" He bent to kiss her but paused. With an eyebrow raised he stated, "you've suddenly grown."

At which point she flashed the impressively high pair of stilettos she was wearing.

"Hmm, that certainly makes things easier..." he joked which she responded to with a punch to the ribs.

"You're awful."

"Oh I'm awful? Says the one that pulled me _under her spell_," he said for effect. They smiled at each other and shared a sweet kiss.

"Hmm." Prue broke away and returned to rummage through her jewelery. "We can go as soon as I've found my necklace."

"Which one?" He stretched as he asked.

She glanced at him. "Wow, you really were under my spell." She turned back and frowned. "The one with the little heart on."

He thought about it and replied," I don't think I've seen that for... I don't know... quite a while now. You might've lost it."

"I hope not."

He came up behind her and placed a single kiss on her bare shoulder. "It'll turn up." He picked up one which was similar in it's simplicity. "I like this one on you." She nodded and he clasped it behind her neck. "Now let's go already!"

She turned a picked up her jacket from a chair sitting close by. "One more time, where are we going?"

He grinned and tapped her nose with a finger. "That's a surprise." She rolled her eyes at him after all that effort.

They eventually left the house and got a cab to their destination. On the journey there Prue was adamant to get it out of Andy as to where they were going. After all, she _really_ wasn't one for surprises.

"Trust me, you'll like it," he urged, smiling at her impatience. She stuck her tongue out like a child and crossed her arms in a huff.

She stared out the window but only started looking at what they were passing when she realized the surroundings were becoming more and more familiar. She shot a look at Andy.

"We're going to P3?"

"Yep, I thought it was about time we went there," he watched her try to take in everything that came into sight. "And before you say otherwise, I can't see that the Elders would have an issue with it. It has been two months."

A small smile crept onto her face which grew as she thought about spending a night at P3. She shuffled over to Andy's side of the cab and planted a hard kiss against his lips. "Thank you," she whispered. She kissed him again as the cab pulled to a stop.

Prue climbed out at stared at the club in front of her. There was a pretty long queue to get in so she guessed that it was going to be a busy night.

Andy paid the driver and put his arm around her as the car pulled away. "Just try to act normal."

"What do you mean?" She asked as he led her towards the VIP queue.

He took in a sharp breath and met her eyes. "I know it will be weird to see your sisters but if you act suspiciously they are going to think something is going on." He kissed her forehead. "They might even think your a demon or something."

She hit his arm lightly but knew it wasn't a joke. There was truth in what he said. However she couldn't tell how she was going to react. Her attention left him briefly as their names were confirmed on the VIP list and they were allowed through.

The place was packed, to the point Prue wasn't even sure she'd ever seen this many people inside. She tried to not overly scan the people she could see, she just couldn't not look.

"Prue, jacket?" She heard Andy ask behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out as she finally saw Piper standing outside the bar. Her sister looked stressed talking to one of the bar staff. That's when Paige came into view and stepped into whatever conversation was going on.

"Prue?" Andy asked again.

"Oh, here," she shrugged it off as someone stood right in her line of sight. She let out a moan at the inconvenience.

Andy snaked an arm around her waist. "Stop it." He directed the way to the bar but purposely avoided the area where Piper and Paige where.

That, however, did not stop her from keeping her eyes on them. She didn't feel like she was even controlling it, her eyes were glued.

"What do you want to drink?" He gently pulled her closer as he got into the queue for drinks. There were a lot of people crowded around the bar so it looked like it was going to take some time to be served. He looked at her when she didn't respond. Her eyes searching through the people behind the bar.

Andy sighed. He knew to expect this behavior but that didn't make it any easier on him on basically feeling ignored.

She turned her attention to him sensing his frustration. "Sorry, I'll have the same as you." He nodded but didn't make eye contact with her. Instead he stood with his other hand on the bar trying to get attention. "Hey," she softly said putting her hand over his. "Just give me a little time to check on them? Then I'm all yours..." She said the last part slowly to make his mind wander to what she meant.

He smiled at himself and shook his head. He cupped the side of her face with his hand that had been at her waist and kissed her forehead. "OK."

She was just starting to scout the room in general to see what kind of people had come to the club when someone finally came over to ask them for drinks.

"What can I get you two?" Prue felt herself freeze – it was Phoebe. Her little sister sent them both a small smile.

"Two Buds would be great," Andy replied with a smile that tried to imply 'sorry for the weirdness'.

Phoebe disappeared to get their drinks. But yet Prue still stood motionless.

"Look at me," Andy said putting his hand under her chin. She did, and realized she hadn't been blinking and released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Try to not act so weird." He kissed the side of her face.

She took a deep breath and try to 'normalize' herself. As she saw Phoebe return she made an effort to look away. Andy handed her one of the bottles and she look a large swig immediately.

"Thanks," he said handing over money to Phoebe. Once he had his change he took Prue's hand in his and pulled her away from the bar and towards the only booth which wasn't occupied. Although he didn't necessarily have to, going VIP and getting a booth seemed like the right way for them to get some quality time together.

"You must have planned this awhile ago to get this?"

"Maybe," he said with a flash of his grin. "I knew we'd end up coming here at some point." She smiled at him and took get another large swig. They settled sitting next to each other, looking out at the other people in the club.

Their night began with small talk. Although they saw each other every day, enough could happen between their separate jobs that meant they actually had to 'catch up' with one another. Prue normally had more to share, seeing and experiencing more through her many different shoots. Andy loved hearing her talk, especially about something she was passionate about like photography. She'd get this sparkle in her eye when she really got into it, and often it turned into him listening to a whole load of jargon he didn't understand but he smiled and nodded anyway, happy just to see her excitement.

She was drinking noticeably quicker than he was but that was down to nerves of being in P3. He however didn't want her getting too drunk too quickly. When she slowed her drinking though her attention left him and returned to her three sisters who remained close to the bar. Unfortunately they had a perfect view and so he didn't even bother trying to refocus the matters on her mind.

She sat perched on the edge of the seat, her body completely turned towards the bar. She watched them as closely as possible and gave thanks that they didn't notice her hawkish behavior. Her brow furrowed as she watched her sisters try to deal with some sort of dilemma. Piper stood with her hands on her hips, clearly not happy, Phoebe threw her arms up in surrender and Paige, well Paige just shrugged her shoulders in an innocent, cute kind of way.

She watched them walk away from each other and hoped they weren't fighting over something that wouldn't be easily resolved.

"I'll be back in a minute," Andy said quietly and kissed the top of her head.

She straightened her back as she started to feel stiff from sitting in the same position too long. She yawned and scanned the club before her again. She couldn't see either her sisters or Andy.

Andy returned a few minutes later, a fresh Bud in his hand. He hadn't got Prue another one as her's was still pretty full. He slumped back into the seat with a thud.

Not much time later her sisters reappeared and she watched as Phoebe somehow seemed to say the right thing that made them all nod and smile. Eventually they were all laughing and looked as close as three sisters could be. That's when it hit Prue.

"They don't need me anymore," she said quietly. She shuffled her weight again, feeling uncomfortable.

"What?" Andy asked stretching his arms. He'd not been paying attention and so hadn't anticipated any conversation.

"They don't need me anymore," she repeated. She finally tore her eyes away from them having seen everything she needed to. She stood up and shifted her dress. She lent close to Andy to grab her handbag.

He noticed that her eyes looked wet with tears and lightly grabbed her wrist as she pulled away with her bag. "Are you OK?"

She didn't meet his eyes but nodded. "I'm just going to freshen up." Before he could say another word she slipped out of his grasp, turned on her heel and disappeared out of the booth.

He sighed. He'd seen it in her face. It was a look when something had broken inside, when you finally found out that you weren't needed anymore, that you didn't have the same purpose that had driven you before. He'd had to go through the same thing after his death when Prue eventually got over him. It had hurt to see her date other men but on the flip side he'd been happy to see that she hadn't stayed hung up over him.

He'd experienced that being a fair distance away 'Up There' but Prue had just witnessed her own breaking point in person, no more than 30 feet away. No doubt that hurt the heart quite a bit more.

Prue briskly made her way to the bathroom, desperately swallowing against the lump that had formed in her throat. When she made it there she grabbed the sides of the basin surface and took deep breaths and blinked against the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

She felt stupid. There was no need to feel this way. Her sisters _needed_ to move on. Her sisters _needed_ to be able to get on with their lives as before without her. If they did need her they would be screwed because she was dead to them, so she could hardly be of any use!

She took another deep breath trying to truly believe what she was telling herself. She stared at herself in the mirror and checked that her makeup was still intact. Here she was hiding away in the bathroom when a handsome guy who loved her was waiting outside to have a night out. She kicked herself for making the beginning of the evening boring for him by essentially ignoring him.

She had to move on from her sisters now. She had personally seen that they were happy and worked together as a trio. She needed to focus on her life and start fully enjoying it with Andy.

Taking one last look in the mirror Prue stood tall and opened the bathroom door. She instantly saw her three sisters laughing together and walking towards her, probably going to the stockroom. She steeled herself against what she knew she would feel and strode straight past them without even a glance. She set her mind on Andy as that was all that mattered now.

Andy sat up as she entered the booth and immediately asked, "are you OK?"

She took the beer out of his hand, took one long swig that almost finished it and pulled him to his feet. "Let's dance." She started to led him to the dance floor but he gently tugged her back.

He looked deeply into her eyes, to check that she wasn't too hurt and was just putting on a brave face for his benefit. He could see that she was in some heartache but he noticed more the way she was looking at him. The love in her eyes was enough to convince him that they could still enjoy the night they had ahead of them. Before they continued to the dance floor he whispered against her ear, "I still need you."

She smiled and kissed him softly. They finally got to an open spot and the night got a lot more enjoyable for both of them.

* * *

They'd danced for hours. Often certain songs getting them very close and passionate on the dance floor. They'd both forgotten about anyone else that was in the club and paid attention only to each other.

"Hmm, let's take a break," Andy insisted. He wasn't sure how much longer P3 was going to be open for but he definitely thought it was about time for a time out. Prue made an effort to stretch as much as she could to place a heavy kiss against his lips. The affect was that he could feel all of her muscles tense against his body. "Prue..."

She smiled and pulled him closer for a passionate kiss.

It took all the effort he could summon to pull away from her. "Come on," he took her hand and urged the way back towards their booth. The dance floor was slowly emptying as people either continued their night elsewhere or were ready to go home. "Sit down."

She did so slowly. "Hmm can't we keep on dancing?" She asked slyly, entwining her fingers behind his head pulling him down to her level.

"Yes, yes... just..." He fumbled in his jacket lying on the seat next to her. "There's something I want to do first. At this point he was kneeling on both knees in front of her whilst she sat grinning at him. "How drunk are you?"

She shook her head. "I'm not. Just very very happy. But I won't be if we don't get back on the dance floor." He had to take her word for it. She didn't look drunk, maybe a little bit tipsy at most.

"OK, so I haven't really planned this properly... and I will get you a proper ring, I just haven't had the time." Her eyes went wide as he raised one leg so that he was only kneeling on one. "If there is anything everything has taught me, it's that there is no time like the present. You can't wait for the perfect moment or the time that's easier – it doesn't exist. You either go for it now, or never. So I have something to ask you."

"What are you ..."

He pulled out something small from his jacket pocket. He took a deep breath and looked at her directly in the eyes. "This time, I'll ask you rather than you ask me." He smiled and calmly said, "Prue, as the only woman that has ever managed to completely send me in a trance, would you please do me the honor of marrying me?" He held out a clear _plastic _ring that had a separate blue plastic blob on the top to mimic a stone.

Any other woman would have been appalled at the sight but instantly Prue recognized it. "That's the ring from..." She pulled his hand holding it closer.

"My 6th birthday, when you oh so generously proposed to me," Andy finished with a grin.

"You kept it all this time?" Her eyes met his as they both remembered a very special moment in their long history together.

"Of course, I got a wife for my birthday – what else does a boy, or man even, want to receive?"

Prue felt herself choking up at the sentiment. There was no one else that she shared such a deep and meaningful history with that could understand how one little plastic ring could have so much power over her.

"Before you get completely overwhelmed by your emotions, can you tell me what your answer is?"

Prue wiped under her eyes, desperately trying to make sure no tears made her make up go running. She tried to correct herself so that she could properly respond. It was no use. Looking into Andy's soft blue eyes as he held out the plastic ring, she felt her control slipping. All she could do was nod.

"Is that a yes?" Excitement written clearly all over his face. When she nodded again he slipped the ring over her finger and somehow, as if it was meant to be, it fit. He pulled her into a tight embrace as she succumbed to crying.

"Yes," she managed to choke out before nestling her head against his chest. His strong arms wrapped around her made it a rare moment when she felt she could be emotional and not feel guilty about it. She sobbed only for a few minutes, as her brain and more importantly her heart felt at peace as she finally had her man.

Between Andy's reassuring hands at the small of her back, his calm deep breathing and his steady beating heart she felt well and truly happy. As her sobs came to an end she pulled away enough to look at him, but not enough to break how close they were.

She smiled at him as he wiped away her final tears. "You do realize that's not your proper engagement ring? I might change my mind by the time I get round to buying one, if I ever do buy one saying that..." She smacked him lightly and laughed. He gazed into her beautiful eyes and knew he didn't have to ask, but did so anyway, "are you happy?"

She sent him a very sexy smile and responded, "extremely happy. We're engaged!" She couldn't think of a time she'd been happier because this had to be quite possibly the best moment in her life. _Period._

They shared one last passionate kiss before Andy pulled her back to the dance floor for some final 'close' moments before they went back home for far more private closeness.

* * *

**A/N:** Blimey that was a long one! I hope everything moved smoothly as certain things needed to get 'tended' to in this chapter in order for the story to progress. I still feel like I'm bloody introducing everything! At over 20,000 words that's one long introduction. Expect one long story?

Many thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Apologies for the lateness in this update. I've had very little time to write recently. The next two weeks shall be the same but once that's over nothing should be in my way (hopefully!).

A huge thanks to everyone that has left a review, added this story to their alerts and even to their favorites list! It means a huge amount, and I'd appreciate anything you might have to say about this chapter.

(Oh and check my profile page for a link to a blog where I briefly state how my writing is going if you've ever wondered about it).

* * *

She awoke with a pressing feeling of complete nausea. Resting a hand against her stomach her eyes adjusted to the dark room and she glanced at a neon-glowing alarm clock.

_04:23_.

She let out a moan. Four in the morning? _Seriously?_ Although she wasn't surprised – it had been around this time for the past few days that the same thing had been happening. She woke up feeling truly sick and every morning she found herself staring into the toilet basin as she vomited the entire contents of her stomach.

Today though, she wouldn't let it happen. No, today she was going to get a grip and control it. It was Sunday after all, a day of rest she fully needed after working a six day week. Not that it was _supposed_ to have been six days of solid working but she had somehow gotten roped into working on a Saturday. Something she'd promised to herself she wasn't ever going to do.

She turned in bed to face her lover. He lay on his back, face turned in her direction, mouth slightly agape as he slept soundly. She ran a finger along his jawline, smiling to herself as she considered that he was adorable when he was asleep.

She nestled close to him, closing her eyes in defiance of her body waking her. She made an effort to swallow against the growing nausea and hoped that it would be enough. She could feel her mouth getting wetter – a sure sign that sickness was on it's way, but she tried to fight against it.

The feeling of bile making it's way up grew and grew until, as if with enough swallowing down, it vanished. She suddenly felt still and calm.

With a sigh of relief she thought it was over. She'd won. She could return to sleep and hope that her brief awakening wasn't disruptive enough to mean that she woke up tired. She was _exhausted_ enough as it was.

And then she felt it. A very sudden very quick movement up from her stomach. Her eyes flashed open and she clamped a hand over her mouth and she fought with the sheets covering her to get out of bed.

Once free she crashed through the door of the en-suite bathroom and only just made it in time. And so her stomach emptied itself once again, just as it had all the other previous mornings.

She focused on her breathing between heaves and was startled when the light was switched on. Her eyes screamed against the sudden brightness. She just about managed to glance up at the doorway through her wet eyes and saw her lover standing there rubbing a hand over his face.

Her attention was quickly snapped back as vomit rose again. The metal ring on her left ring finger clinked against the basin as she gripped it for support.

Warm hands brushed against her neck as her lover pulled her hair out of the way. He settled himself on the floor behind her. He held her hair with one hand and used the other to rub her back.

She wasn't sure how long they were sitting like that – her retching uncontrollably and he comforting her. When she finally felt her stomach begin to calm she lent back against his chest and took even, steady, deep breaths.

He took her left hand in his and let his other arm wrap around her. He brushed his thumb over her ring and asked, "do you like it?"

She gazed at their two hands, marveling at how big and strong his was compared to hers. "It's perfect," she replied softly.

He brought her hand to his lips and left a soft kiss there before enveloping his arm around her. He pulled her closer up against him and kissed the top of her head.

"You shouldn't have worked yesterday."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm sorry."

They were supposed to have gone shopping _together_ for her engagement ring, but due to her work commitments he'd had to go alone. She however actually preferred the fact that he'd chosen it all by himself. And he'd chosen well.

It was a simple engagement ring but it shined and sparkled enough for anyone to notice to smile and nod in a congratulating manner.

For her though, it was so much more. It's simplicity summoned up their love for each other. Although their journeys had been difficult, their love had always been present and there was nothing more to it than the fact that they were utterly crazy for each other.

"You're working too hard," he continued, pulling her out of the thoughts she'd got lost in. "The one day you have to rest and you're sick." He sighed deeply. "I don't like it."

"Hmm," she said with her own sigh. "It's been going on for a little while." She felt his arms tense around her. "It's OK, must just be a stomach bug or something like that." She turned to kneel in front of him and draped her arms around his neck. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I bet after resting today I'll be completely fine." She sent him a small smile but concern was still written in his eyes.

"If you're the same tomorrow I'm taking you to see a doctor," he stated coolly. "I'm serious," he added.

"OK." She knew better than to argue with him when his mind was already dead set. She also reveled in the fact that he wanted to look after her, something she hadn't experienced for a long time.

Just as she was going to suggest they return to bed she felt bile rising again. She broke out of his embrace and resumed her position over the basin. Unfortunately she'd been reduced to dry heaving, as there simply wasn't anything left to come up. She felt her stomach muscles tighten with each uncontrolled convulsion. She let out a short moan as fatigue set in.

She felt him scoot up close behind her and rub his hand soothingly against her back. Whereas some men would probably be stumped as to what was best to help he just _knew_. He'd always been like that. She wondered if he would be the same with anyone else, or even whether he had been with his ex-wife. Something told her though that part of it was because it was _her_. They were the perfect compliment to each other and so often they both knew what the other one needed. It was just so... simple.

She was suddenly very aware at just how tired she felt. Her eyes were so heavy she was sure they were going to close of their own accord. Her muscles felt sore from being continually contracted. She felt goosebumps on her skin from sitting on the cold floor and realized she'd been shivering. To top it all off she felt a headache beginning to form. As if she didn't have enough to contend with already.

"Come on, back to bed," he said. He gently pulled her to her feet. "You haven't shown signs of throwing up for awhile," he commented at her questionable looks.

She realized that was true, she just hadn't noticed the time passing as her body willed her to pass out. "Let me just freshen up first. You go ahead, I'll be through in a minute."

He kissed her forehead and then left the bathroom, disappearing into the darkness of their bedroom.

She splashed her face with cold water and as she patted her face dry, stared at her blood shot eyes in the mirror. Definitely not a good look. She grabbed the mouthwash, swigged from the bottle and gargled and swished it around her mouth until sure the taste of vomit and bile would be gone. She spat it out and took one last look in the mirror.

She turned the light off and stepped out into the bedroom and waited briefly for her eyes to adjust once more.

She slid under the covers and shuffled close to where he was lying on his side. She couldn't make out whether his eyes were open or not but once her head was on the pillow she couldn't keep hers open any longer.

She felt him draw closer and kiss her softly on the lips. He lightly stroked her hair, tucking it behind her ear and the sensation sent warm shivers down her spine.

"Prue?"

"Mmm..." She felt barely conscious at this point.

"I love you," he whispered against her ear, having lent in to kiss her again.

"Love you too Andy," she mumbled. She couldn't tell if he was saying anything else as unconsciousness took over and her muscles finally relaxed.

* * *

After what felt like only minutes later but had in fact been more than a few hours, Prue felt something urging her to wake up and she _did not_ want to. In fact she'd do anything in her power to stay asleep.

Thinking it was the stupid alarm clock she tapped it hoping to reach the snooze button. It seemed to have made a weird noise in response so she tapped it harder, mumbling "five more minutes."

"Prue!" Andy exclaimed.

She opened her eyes slightly and frowned when she saw that she'd been tapping _him_. She breathed noisily as consciousness returned.

"What were you doing?" She managed to say. She struggled because her mind felt... cloudy. That was the only word that came to her. Her head felt heavy and nothing seemed to make much sense.

"What do you mean?"

She groaned and glanced up at the alarm clock that _hadn't_ woken her up. She was shocked to read _10:32_. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up so late.

"I was just stroking your hair, that's what woke you up," Andy said not getting an answer from her. "I didn't think you'd want to sleep much later."

She crossed an arm over her eyes. He was right. She _shouldn't_ sleep any longer. But why oh why did she feel so _crap_, almost like she'd had no sleep at all?

"Are you OK?"

She heard the concern in his voice but wasn't sure how to answer. All she could think was that _something_ had completely zapped all her energy and in all her history of six day weeks, hell even more than that at Bucklands, she had never ever felt like this afterward. Maybe she did need to see a doctor. Or maybe it was just exhaustion. She'd definitely had tougher weeks in the past but then again a lot had happened this week with the proposal and everything.

But still... could it really take that much out of her?

"Prue?" Andy's concern clearly growing.

She moved her arm and looked up at him. He was sitting up staring straight down at her, looking very worried.

"I'm fine," Prue finally responded, with a weak smile. "Put some coffee on? I just need a caffeine fix."

He didn't look convinced but lent down and kissed her sweetly. "OK. But you are a terrible liar."

She watched him pull on some lounge pants and a t-shirt before disappearing out the room. She stretched with a yawn and tried to hold it to get some circulation going. She regretted it almost instantly as her stomach muscles ached like they'd gone through a tough work out.

It took what felt like all the effort in the world to bring herself to sit up and swing her legs off the bed. She yawned again and rubbed at her eyes. There seemed to be no clarity in her brain.

With a moan she stood up and walked over to a chest of drawers. She pulled out a pair of Andy's boxers and wasn't even sure that was what she wanted. She slipped them on anyway and lazily thought that the shirt she was wearing – also his – would be adequate enough to wear.

She stomped down the stairs and dragged herself to the kitchen where Andy stood lent against the side waiting for the coffee machine to finish it's magic. He smiled to himself watching her struggle to decide whether to slump into a chair or walk to him for a cuddle. Both required energy she didn't feel she had. So she stood where she was, yawning and wondered whether she could sleep standing up.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so... " Andy started, walking towards her.

"Drained? Exhausted? Ready to drop?" Prue finished.

He pulled her into a tight embrace and said. "Hmm... I was thinking more... pooped out."

She knew he was trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't that his concern was gone, it was that he'd made it known but now he at least wanted to make her feel just the tiniest bit better. She couldn't even muster a laugh for him though. Having his arms around her, leaning against his warm body – it made her want to return to bed.

"Coffee's done," he seemed to say more to himself than her. She moaned as he left her to pour their drinks. He filled two large mugs and didn't add sugar or milk – black coffee was _needed_ today.

He handed a mug to her and she didn't even bother blowing on it to cool it down. So often she'd had to knock back a mug in a rush that she was used to handling the heat. She lifted the mug, took a long sip and swallowed half of it.

Her eyes went wide and she struggled to not spit out what she remained in her mouth. Instead she forcefully swallowed and set the mug down on the kitchen table. "That's disgusting!"

Andy sipped at his and noticed nothing different about the taste than normal. He picked up hers and did the same. Again, all tasted normal. "I don't know what you're on about, it tastes like what it always does."

She frowned placing her hands on her hips. "That's not coffee!"

He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a small smile. "I don't know what you want to hear. It's fine."

"Uh! It's not fair!" She crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. She was beginning to struggle without her daily caffeine intake. "It hasn't tasted right for awhile..." She admitted slowly.

Andy's hands froze as he was about to take another sip from his. Instead he put his mug next to hers on the table. "Prue..."

"What?" She saw the uneasiness return once more. "It's only coffee, it's really not a big deal." She placed a hand over his.

He shook his head. "It _is_ a big deal. Coffee is something you've _always_ enjoyed ever since Grams was stupid enough to let you try it." He sighed deeply meeting her eyes. "And now it doesn't taste right? Something is definitely wrong... I'm worried."

She smiled at him and stepped closer. She held a hand tenderly against his face. "I know you are but it can't honestly be that serious can it? Let's just take it easy today? Maybe do a search online of my symptoms and see what pops up?"

He rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling and nodded. "One day I'd like to think you won't be so stubborn." They both smiled at that.

"Dream on." She tapped his nose and then pulled her hand back for another yawn.

Andy quickly finished off his coffee and said "let's do this searching then." Taking her hand they left the kitchen for the living room.

Prue switched on the TV whilst Andy booted up their laptop. He left it on the edge of the coffee table and slouched out on the couch. When Prue stood with a raised eyebrow he gestured for her to join him and so she laid down on top of him, nestling her head against his chest.

"Hmm, you're very comfy," she stated. She could already feel her tiredness take hold as she tried to focus on either the laptop screen or the TV.

Andy had long enough arms to reach the laptop from where he was so used one to begin surfing the 'net whilst his other one slipped under Prue's shirt. His hand lightly traced the length of her spine, and he made it a continuous motion as he concentrated on the laptop.

Prue closed her eyes and knew there was no point trying to fight to stay awake. She felt bad about it, having slept in until such a late hour but couldn't control how her body was reacting. Soon the only thing she was aware of was the feeling of his hand against her skin. Every time his hand reached either the top or bottom of her spine and then switched direction, warm shivers overwhelmed her nerves. The sensation coaxed her towards unconsciousness, but she needed no encouragement.

Andy moved slightly under her, breaking her dream-like state. His tapping at the laptop had stopped and she heard him take a deep breath. She could feel his muscles tighten as his mind was occupied with what was on the screen in front of him. She thought nothing of it until his hand suddenly stopped moving. He moved again, trying to sit straighter.

"Mmm, sit still," Prue moaned.

"Er... Prue... you might want to look at this," Andy said slowly.

Prue opened her eyes but couldn't focus on the screen from her current position. "You've found something already?" She sat up, turning to lean her back against Andy's chest. She stretched for the laptop and pulled it to her lap. She made an effort to stretch, yawn and rub at her eyes before reading the information blaring from the screen. "Right," she said, trying to dismiss the ebbs of exhaustion calling her back to sleep. "What have we here..."

Andy's arms encircled her waist and he let his hands rest against her stomach.

She skimmed through the words on the page and swallowed hard as one in particular kept coming up. She surfed through the other sites Andy had open and read through lists of symptoms she had and the following diagnosis which went back to _that_ word.

"Andy..." She said with a shaky breath.

He brought his head close to hers. "What do you think?"

She stared at the laptop. "I – I..." She shook her head as she was rendered speechless.

He took a hand away from her stomach and took control of navigating the laptop. "It makes sense, if you think about it." He clicked on a link from the main search page. "This site can give you a reasonably accurate time line." He took a deep breath. "If we put in a date from the first week we came here... you could be 9 weeks along." He returned his hand to her stomach but this time sent it under her shirt to stroke his thumb against her bare skin. "There might be a baby in here," he dreamily whispered into her ear.

Prue sat like stone, transfixed by the diagram in front of her. In an overly-chirpy manner 40 weeks of pregnancy were laid out describing briefly what was happening on a week by week basis. She wasn't sure what to think of the hand-drawn pictures that depicted what looked like a sea monkey growing through the different stages.

"It all makes sense now. Morning sickness, change in taste, exhaustion... You're pregnant!" Excitement was evident in his voice. He returned the laptop to the coffee table and held her tightly.

She closed her eyes and lent her head against his chest. Her hand found its way to his, which continued to stroke her stomach. The thought of a baby, _his _baby, growing inside her was a dream she'd had for a long time, but had eventually let go of.

"You're being far too quiet," Andy said, squeezing her. "What's on that intelligent mind of yours?"

She took in a deep breath, a cascade of emotions pounded against her heart, leaving her mind confused as to what to feel overall.

"You do... want this, right?" His voice sounded small as he stopped moving his hand.

She sat up, turned once again, and knelt in front of him. She took one of his hands in both of hers and gave it a long kiss. "Of course I want this. I'm just... This is just..." She shook her head struggling to find the right words.

Placing his other hand under her chin he gently forced her to meet his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

She stared into his blue eyes and everything that was running through her heart and mind stopped. None of it mattered. Clarity emerged and she felt her lips form into a smile. "I really want this," she said in a low voice.

His returned his own small smile. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "I really _really_ want this. You have no idea how happy it would make me if I am pregnant..." She breathed deeply as he hooked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "But we don't know that I am, so until I take a test, promise me you won't get excited?"

She could see in his eyes that there was no chance of him _not_ jumping to the conclusion that she was pregnant. He lent forward and gave her deep kiss. He kept his face close to hers, unable to hide his huge grin.

"What if we go to the pharmacy now? There's no point waiting. And I'm desperate to know..." A sense of impatience came through his voice she had rarely witnessed before. Without giving her a chance to reply he urged her up off the couch. "C'mon, let's get dressed."

She moaned at his insistence. She was still completely shattered after all. He smiled at her and in one swoop picked her up so that she had one arm around his neck and her legs draped over one arm.

"Andy!"

He proceeded to take her out of the living room and up the stairs to their bedroom. "Well if this is the only way you'll move quickly..."

She jabbed him in the ribs which caused him to yelp and she smiled, satisfied.

* * *

Isabelle Hardy moved around her Wiccan shop in a familiar way as she worked at tidying the items scattered around the various shelves. Everything had a particular way to be presented and she knew it so well she didn't even have to think about it as her hands worked.

Standing back to assess the aisle in front of her, she smoothed a hand through her thick long brown hair and sighed.

The door jingled as someone entered the shop and she turned to see two burly men scanning the room until their eyes settled on her. Instantly her instinct told her they were evil yet she didn't shrink away from them or feel unsettled.

"What can I help you two with?"

One of them, slightly smaller than the other sent her a wicked smile and let his hand drift over the objects he passed as he walked towards her. "Oh, I think you know."

The other one stood his ground so that he was blocking the door.

She snorted and turned on her heel to stand behind the counter. "You might have to be a bit more specific."

The smaller man followed her and lent over the counter as far as he could. "_The prophecy_. Has it been initiated yet?"

Isabelle's green eyes appraised him darkly. "Depends who's asking. I wouldn't expect _humans_ – however deeply involved, to be sent to me."

The man scowled, offended. "_Humans_ are necessary for this particular issue. And we won't be _human_ once it's all over." His eyes almost seemed to get darker as he said it. "Tell us what you know and we'll pass it on."

Even though they were only human, they _stunk_ of evilness and she knew better than to get on the wrong side. With reluctance she lent close to him. In a low voice she said "they are here. In San Francisco, under an illusion of different people, living normal lives."

He lent back, straightening and brought a hand to his chin. "Interesting. Interesting. And the baby?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen anything yet."

"Well you had better see something soon," he growled. "That child _cannot_ be born. Such power would be too destructive."

"You don't think I know that?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Neither side, good or bad, wants a child with such power to exist."

He flashed that wicked smile at her again. "Which is why both sides are working together for once. Who would have thought it?"

She stared at him as he stood grinning in front of her. "You can leave now."

He stared right back. "Hmm... for now. We'll be back though. Soon. As soon as this baby comes into the picture... well... it's time to destroy it."

He took a moment to let his words settle and then turned sharply and exited the shop with the larger man. The door jingled loudly behind them.

Isabelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Mommy?" A small voice asked. "Who was that?"

Isabelle took one last moment to shed the feeling of being in the presence of evil and then turned to see her seven year old daughter standing in the doorway between the shop and the rooms beyond it.

"No one, sweetie," she said, kneeling to pick her daughter up. As she held her daughter close her thoughts drifted to the woman from the prophecy, who had no chance of seeing her baby alive.

Whilst Isabelle's heart felt heavy, she knew that it was for the right reasons. A baby conceived from immortal parents could never live, especially this one. The prophecy spoke of unimaginable power from birth, of which could not be controlled or contained by either good or dark magic. Ultimately, the baby would be able to overthrow both sides and the magic world would be in utter chaos.

Unfortunately the prophecy went further than the baby, but had proved to be impossible to decipher. Something told her there was more to come regarding the baby's parents, and not something she'd enjoy finding out about.

* * *

"Sit still!" Prue said sternly.

Andy sent her an apologetic look, but continued to fidget like a little child. "Three minutes must be up by now?"

She shook her head at his impatience. Once they had quickly gotten dressed, they'd left for the nearest pharmacy. It hadn't ended up being as close as they thought and once they were equipped with four pregnancy tests (at Prue's insistence) they rushed to get home. However Andy couldn't wait that long so had pulled their 4x4 in front of a diner and gave Prue no choice in the matter; she was to do the tests inside.

So there they were. Sitting at the table closest to the bathrooms, waiting to check on what the results were. Prue hadn't felt comfortable waiting inside the bathroom so had left the sticks in there and came to sit with Andy. Not that he was good company. He sat, his leg twitching as he counted down the seconds in his head. He wouldn't strike up conversation as he was too intent on his counting.

"Right." He said rising to his feet quickly. "They're done, now go check."

Prue stayed in her seat. She glanced at the bathroom door, then up at him.

"Go on." He gestured to the door eagerly. When she refused to move he got down on a knee in front of her with a huff. "What?"

She lowered her eyes to her hands in her lap. "What if they're negative."

He hadn't heard her against the clatter of noise from the diner. "What?"

"What if they're negative?" She brought her eyes back up to his.

He kissed her on the forehead and smiled. "They won't be."

"You don't know that."

He pulled her to her feet. "Well we don't know either way until you go in there and see what they say." He pushed her towards the door but she turned around to face him.

"You do it."

He stared at her incredulously. "Prue! I can't go in there, that's the female bathroom."

"Please?" She begged. "I can't do it."

He grunted and without further pause disappeared through the door.

Prue stood with her arms crossed, feeling a slight chill. Or that might have been nerves. She thought to herself that maybe they should have waited until they got home. Finding out whether she was pregnant or not in a diner was _not_ how she had pictured it. Then again, she'd never expected to have an unplanned pregnancy, she had always been so careful. But, if she was pregnant with Andy's baby, planned or not, she couldn't have wished for anything better. She was finally getting what she had so desperately pined for for most of her life. She had a fiancé and now was possibly expecting? Life might be on the fast-forward button, but she wasn't complaining.

Andy suddenly emerged from the bathroom and hovered near the doorway. His eyes were cast to the floor and she couldn't read his expression. She felt her heart sink as his shoulders raised and dropped with a heavy breath. He slowly walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. She'd just managed to catch his eyes and noticed they were wet.

Against the hard lump in her throat she managed to say, "it doesn't matter. We can... start trying? You know, plan properly and everything." He dropped his mouth near her ear but said nothing. "Can we even get pregnant? I mean... we are both... _dead_..."

"Prue..." He said softly.

"You do have to wonder about that actually. Maybe we should try to find out... somehow... before we start trying. What if we can't-"

"Prue..." He whispered against her ear. "You're pregnant."

She froze. "What?"

"You're pregnant."

Prue pushed against him to look into his eyes and found him to be smiling at her. Confused, her brow furrowed and she planted her hands on her hips. "I don't believe you."

"What?.. It's true! Go take a look for yourself."

She pushed past him and stomped to the bathroom. Once there she went straight to where the pregnancy tests were sitting. All four had the magical little pink cross indicating 'pregnant'. Her eyes didn't believe what was in front of them.

"You see? Pregnant," Andy commented, leaning against the doorway.

"I'm going to beat you so hard," she said without looking up.

He straightened and asked, "why?"

"Because," she started. "You had me believing these were all negative." She finally looked up at him with a cheeky glint in her eye. "And that, I'm afraid, is entirely punishable."

"Wait... wait... I never said-" Andy started as she walked towards him. Instead he gave up and _ran_ out of the bathroom, through the diner much to the surprise of the other customers, and fled to the car park.

Prue was in hot pursuit and once they reached the fresh air she waited no time in jumping in his direction. He turned just in time to catch her and spun her around as she clung to him. They grinned at each other before their lips met for a long passionate kiss.

Andy brought their spinning to a standstill but continued to kiss her, bringing his hands to cup either side of her face.

"Hmm," she said, caught in a moment of rapture. Letting out a soft moan she added, "I'm pregnant."

He pulled away from her briefly and smiled at how happy she looked. "You certainly are. You know what else? You are amazingly gorgeous right now. My beautiful, pregnant, wife-to-be."

She let out a laugh and pulled him back closer for another kiss. "Don't think you're getting out of your punishment... but that has got to be the best sentence I've ever heard."

* * *

Patty sat looking down at the pond below her. On the water's edge she watched Prue and Andy embrace as they took in the news that they were going to have a baby. Her heart was split between being overjoyed that her eldest daughter was finally getting the family she deserved, and sorrowful at the thought that the family was doomed to failure.

"We couldn't control this," Grams said behind her. "We've only just been told about it!"

A tear fell down her cheek as she watched her daughter look the happiest she'd ever been. "Can't we at least warn them?"

"You know we can't do that!" Grams said sternly. "The prophecy says what it says. No one can change that."

"This seems so unfair, after everything they've been put through." Patty raised to her feet and brushed at her clothes.

"Well we didn't write the prophecy. And," cocking her shoulder Grams added, "we'll just have to hope they can make it through all that's to come and still be standing side by side."

Patty took one last long look at the couple and hoped with all her heart they would make it. She knew of no one else with such strong love for one another, but she had to wonder if anyone could get through the events that were set to transpire in the coming months.

"This is going to break her."

Grams nodded slowly. "Maybe. But she's strong."

Patty shook her head. "No one is that strong. She's going to be destroyed by the end of it." Swallowing hard Patty added, "she doesn't deserve this."

Grams threw up her hands in a shrug. "This is out of anyone's control. All I would say is the earlier things happen, the better for the both of them. They're more likely to fight through this _together_ if they are forced to rely on one another early on."

Patty knew that wasn't going to happen. Magic, no matter how good (or evil), had an awful way of torturing your soul for as long as possible, dragging out the pain and the hurt endlessly. Pain that would be strong enough to split the strongest couple apart and send them into a deep abyss of dark melancholy, with no apparent way out.

This, she knew, was what the future had in store for her beautiful daughter and to-be son-in-law. A future that both good and dark magic would forcefully ensure would come true. She could only pray that her other daughters weren't going to get dragged into it.


End file.
